King of Anything
by 40four
Summary: It's not easy being heir to the throne, especially when ancient customs require prince Van to still undergo the rite of dragon-slaying but after that is done and over with, all he wants is a cup of coffee. If you thought such a simple pleasure would come without complications for a future king, think again. AU
1. Act 1, Chapter 1

**A/N:** The other day, I re-discovered Sarah Bareilles' _King of Anything_ and it prompted this one-shot to form in my head. Now, granted, that song is more about a guy with correctile dysfunction aka mansplaining syndrome but it's not about that. It's specifically one line in the song that inspired this story. Well, just go with it.

If you're on Insta and are curious how I imagined Merle, go you to 'angelganev' and look for a pretty recent drawing of a super adorable pink-haired girl with two buns.

This is meant to be light-hearted entertainment. Don't take it too seriously.

 **[Edit 09/16/18: Couldn't have** **been** **more** **wrong about this being a one-shot. I have decided to pick up this** **story again and am in the process of** **creating an outline. Stay tuned!]**

 **[Edit 12/30/18: This story now has a beta! The lovely OfSilverRaindrops has spent some of her valued time to give my writing a thorough check. Mostly grammar and some tweaks when it comes to word redundancy or how to make everything flow better. Thank you so much!]**

I'm just playing in Shoji Kawamori's sandbox again, making zero coin off this story.

 _King of Anything_

Act 1, Chapter 1

 _In which Van opens a door and Hitomi drops something._

It was dumb. Dumb and boring. Dumb because the physicians were still, after a whole damn week, refusing to allow him to leave his bed, and boring because of, well, being stuck in said bed without any sort of entertainment whatsoever. It was a just cause for slow but gradual declivity into insanity. He had been told numerous times that he still needed rest, and even though hotly contested by himself, there was absolutely no debate about it.

Van Slanzar de Fanel, heir to the throne of Fanelia and soon-to-be-crowned king was, until further notice, strictly ordered to rest. To say that he was miffed about it would have been an understatement. If he had to swallow so much as another drop of the bitter, medicated tea the staff brought twice a day, he would most definitely hurl. If he had to taste it even one more time, he couldn't be held responsible for what he was going to do.

Oh, how gladly he'd instead fight that bloody dragon again. All the dragons in Fanelia, no scratch that- all of Gaea, actually- just to get his hands on a freshly brewed, delicious cup of hot, steaming coffee. The lack of caffeine was another, very undesirable, side effect of the bedrest they still had him on. Not even his younger sister, Merle, could be convinced to smuggle a cup out of the kitchens for him, and she would darn well do nearly anything for him under normal circumstances.

At present, said younger sister was still in her usual post on the floor next to his bed, holding onto his hand and napping with her head resting on the mattress, legs curled up by her side. Pink hair, which she liked to carry in two small buns on top of her head, had become disheveled from moving around and was beginning to spill onto the crisp, white sheets near their arms.

Of course, Van had told her already days ago that spending every waking hour with him was not necessary. As it was, however, they were the only two remaining members of the royal family, so her protectiveness towards him was not entirely unfounded. Besides, it wasn't like he wouldn't act in a very similar way if their roles were reversed.

 _Funny_ , Van thought as he stared at the fresco on the ceiling above his large four-poster. Funny how Fanelia's capital was protected by tall, metal walls topped with electric fences to keep out the land dragons native to the kingdom, but when it came to traditions, they had no qualms whatsoever about sticking the last male heir of their royal family into an ancient, primitive armor and pushing him out the gates, armed with nothing but a sword and a shield. Not to forget, that was after his brother had already failed at the rite of dragonslaying years ago.

When Merle finally woke from her early afternoon nap by his side, she stretched and fixed her hair before popping some gum into her mouth. She loved gum. Even though the governesses, who were supposed to educate her in proper behavior and etiquette befitting a princess, kept taking it from her at every possible chance, she always somehow had a piece in her mouth again mere minutes later. It was pretty likely that she had a secret cache somewhere in her room. Clever. Van could really learn something from her in those regards.

"Van, I think it's time for your tea again soon," she announced while getting to her feet and smoothing the wrinkles out of her favorite yellow sundress in the process. "I'll go grab a snack from the kitchens and bring you a cup myself."

Van's eyes widened at her words, but he said, "Sure. Thanks, Merle."

One of his eyes involuntarily gave a nervous twitch. There was no use in arguing about it. His health was her top priority, and it had made her unsympathetic to any and all of his complaints about the foul-tasting brew.

 _Over my dead body_ , was what Van actually thought after the ornate door clicked shut behind his sister. In the blink of an eye, he was out of his bed and across the room, stripping off his black, silk pajama shirt with a few quick movements on the way. He winced a bit when his right arm protested. Ah, yes, the injury. It was the very reason for his much abhorred, mandated bedrest and the sole justification for why they were still keeping him quasi-locked up in his own royal chambers.

Van had managed to slay the dragon but not before the beast, in return, had wounded him with the sharp, bony protrusion at the end of its tail. In hindsight, he had been lucky to get away with only a deep gash on his sword arm considering the beast could have roasted him to a crisp in a matter of seconds. Sure, it hurt, but he seriously doubted that a flesh wound warranted anything more than three days of bed rest. They had stitched it together pretty well, after all.

What he really, really needed right now was a good cup of coffee to satisfy the craving and lift his spirits after quasi vegetating in the same spot for days. Enough was enough. He needed to get out of here. Only for an hour or two at least, before he'd lose his mind completely.

Luckily, there was a pair of ordinary denim pants way in the back of his closet, behind the suits with the royal crest and the scratchy embroidery around the tight collars he usually wore when going about his duties. No, going out by himself and enjoying some much-needed freedom would only be possible incognito. Fortunately, the pants still fit and comfortably so, although he couldn't remember when he ever had the chance to last wear them.

Probably sometime before Balgus insisted on upping the sword training to make sure Van wouldn't suffer the same fate as the oldest Fanel offspring. The combat training had eaten up a good chunk of his free time. It was fine, though. Really. He never complained about it. If anything had happened to him during the rite of dragon slaying, all the uncomfortable responsibilities would have fallen upon Merle. Not a royal by birth, his adopted sister would have had to marry some foreign aristocrat to be able to even stake a claim to the throne, and Van just couldn't leave her to such a fate. He didn't consider himself particularly fit to rule even now, but at least he had received some formal instruction alongside Folken since their father had passed years ago.

Van hastily picked a button down shirt from the endless pile of fresh laundry and yanked the sleeve up his sword arm where the thick bandage was. He rolled up the cuffs to just under his elbows, hastily fastened the small buttons, and haphazardly tucked it into his pants. Wait, what was he doing? He didn't have to do this. This was incognito Van. He tugged the slightly wrinkled shirt out of his pants and let the back hem hang comfortably loose.

Unfortunately, the royal wardrobe almost exclusively offered a wide array of polished dress shoes. A pair of soft, brown loafers meant for traveling in the summer was the least fancy thing he could find. Perfect. Who needed socks, anyway?

When looking into the large full-length mirror, Van noticed that his hair was in a state of complete disarray from the restless tossing and turning he'd done in bed all day. How convenient. It was a far cry from the usual, slicked back style which had become his signature look over the past years. A faint smile formed on Van's lips when he combed his hand through the mess. He dragged some of it across his forehead to cover more of the dark skin and trademark garnet eyes he could easily be recognized by.

Drat. This was indeed a dead giveaway. Looking around… Ah-ha! The royal wardrober's least favorite pair of sunglasses just so happened to be Van's favorite. He usually sported them during sword lessons in the relentlessly hot afternoon sun, and that was pretty much the only reason they had not yet mysteriously disappeared from his wardrobe. The lenses were mirrored, framed by a thin, metallic wire and would completely hide his eyes from anyone. Dressed like, perhaps, a preppy-looking university student, he would be able to roam the streets freely. Just so long as he got out of here before Merle was back, of course.

* * *

This was, without a doubt, the worst day in Hitomi Kanzaki's life. It wasn't enough that she'd been soaked from head to toe by a surprise rain shower this morning, torn a lace on her favorite pair of sneakers, and walked in on her two roommates making out with each other in their apartment living room. No, she had also just dumped a whole, fresh carafe of coffee onto the floor behind the counter of the little coffee shop she worked in. It was a good thing there weren't any customers in here at the moment. This was still a slow time of day with it being a bit after lunch but too early for people to stop in for a pick-me-up on the way home from work.

Perhaps, if she had known that it was about to get even worse, she wouldn't even have left her bed this morning.

Of course, right then, while she was still kneeling on the floor to take care of the mess, the bell on the door chimed behind her to indicate that somebody had entered. Hitomi plastered a fake smile on her face.

"Hey! Welcome! I'm sorry I had a small mishap. Will be right with you," she announced while scrambling to her feet from her kneeling position on the floor and gingerly dropping a handful of glass shards into a nearby trash can.

The tall guy who was passing through the doorway at first appeared to be unusually nervous for a customer. He was checking first left, then right over his shoulder to perhaps see if he was being followed. Then, seemingly more relaxed, he casually sauntered up to the counter where Hitomi was still standing in a puddle of lukewarm coffee, the soles of her sneakers squeaking as she shifted her weight.

"Afternoon. I'll have a cup of coffee. A very large cup of coffee. Black," the man said upon arriving at the counter. Hitomi eyed the dark-skinned stranger more closely before replying.

His clothing was a bit disheveled, the dress shirt wrinkled at the hem, and his face accessorized with a pair of mirrored shades which completely hid his eyes. He didn't seem to be planning on taking them off like anyone else would have by now.

An ebony mess of hair covered his head and fell across his forehead in charming disarray. He could be handsome, but it was hard to tell without seeing his eyes.

"Sorry, I just dropped the carafe a few minutes ago and need to clean up this mess before I can get a new one from the storage room in the back," Hitomi apologized, visibly annoyed at her own clumsiness. "If you don't mind waiting a little, I'd be happy to make fresh coffee."

The guy scratched the back of his head while turning again to look through the large glass windows on either side of the door through which he had just entered. "Sure. No problem."

Hitomi nodded and crouched down on the floor again to pick up some more of the many glass shards that littered the immediate area. Before she could proceed, however, the guy had come halfway around the counter. What in the world was he doing?

Van saw an unmistakable hue of scarlet pass by the storefront. A royal guard. Damn, they were fast. Surely his sister had alerted them immediately after she had returned to his room and found him missing. With nowhere else to hide, he quickly stepped around the counter to where the young woman was kneeling to shield himself from view.

"Let me help you with that," Van mumbled and moved to reach for a piece of glass near him.

"Wait, what are you doing? Don't cut yourself!" Hitomi exclaimed in alarm. It most definitely wouldn't do to have a customer get injured while picking up broken glass.

Hitomi's hand shot out and grabbed the dark-haired guy's arm. Her fingers wrapped around it firmly, pulling him away from the glass and catching him slightly off guard with her reaction. His head moved up and the lenses of his glasses reflected Hitomi's own face back at her. "I don't want you to hurt yourself," she said, a bit annoyed but meaning well.

She was pretty: no make-up, short hair, and with a few freckles across her nose from being out in the sun.

"Fine then. Do it all yourself…and let go. That hurts!" The stranger replied, clearly irritated, and winced a bit while readjusting himself and attempting to get back up.

Hitomi's eyes widened when she released his arm. "By the gods…did…did **I** do that?" she uttered in horror upon seeing that, where her hand had been only a moment ago, a scarlet splotch was beginning to bloom on the white fabric of his shirt.

"How in the…was there glass?" she stuttered before scrambling to her feet too, the mess completely forgotten. She checked her hand back and front to see if a stray shard had caught itself on there without her noticing.

"Oh dear. I'm so very sorry. I don't know how that happened! Please let me take care of that," she said with a horrified expression on her face, motioning towards the guy's arm which he was cradling protectively by the elbow. "Your coffee is obviously going to be on the house."

Van couldn't help but be a bit amused despite the accident. The young woman, probably around his age, had not the slightest idea who he was even though the news about his injury had spread like wildfire. When she took his hand, he noticed that it was much smaller than his and soft, not calloused from holding a sword nearly every day over the last five years or so.

He was used to being treated with respect and a sort of standoffish care by the staff. Certainly he'd never been dragged around the counter of a tiny coffee shop and maneuvered into a worn, wooden chair next to a square table by the wall.

"Wait here. I'll get some first aid supplies," the woman said while she hurried towards the back, skidding a bit through the spilled coffee near the back counter on the way. She was athletic looking, dressed in tight khaki shorts and a green polo shirt under the short, brown apron that was wrapped around her waist.

When she came back, she was holding a white plastic box with a red cross on the lid. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. I'm in nursing school. I just work here to make a bit of money on the side," she said while depositing the container on the table.

"Really, I'm **so** sorry. I don't even know how that happened." Hitomi looked at her hand as if to check again whether she had perhaps spontaneously sprouted a pair of sharp talons without her own knowledge.

Van didn't have the nerve to reply. What was he supposed to say without giving himself away? He was currently also busy staring at her face again. As flustered as the young woman with the short, honey blonde hair was, she was becoming prettier by the minute. Maybe it wasn't just her looks but also her naturally endearing demeanor. He didn't really protest either when she investigated the sleeve of his no longer completely white dress shirt.

No cuts or holes were to be seen, of course. A bit bewildered, Hitomi scrutinized him, her face so close to his that Van was afraid she would see right through the lenses of his mirrored shades. "I can't get to your upper arm. Would you mind just taking it off?"

Van only stared at her while his eyebrows traveled far above the metallic rim of his shades. Was she serious?

"I see shirtless male patients during my rotations all the time. It's not a big deal," Hitomi assured him, the professional through and through.

Quite serious, so it seemed.

 _Fine then_ , Van thought, slowly becoming extremely curious and also a bit uncomfortable due to the freshly leaking wound. Perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea after all to at least have it wrapped up. Walking down the street with a bloody arm would most certainly draw a whole lot of unwanted attention.

He fumbled with the buttons of his shirt a bit, the stinging pain in his injured arm making his fingers slightly clumsy.

"Here, let me help with that," the woman immediately offered when she saw that he was getting nowhere. Her hands gently pushed away his and deftly undid the button row in mere seconds. If it hadn't been for his naturally dark complexion, the faint tint of red on Van's cheeks would have been blatantly evident. It wasn't every day that a woman undressed him.

Okay, maybe she shouldn't have so vigorously insisted on helping, because this...this was most definitely a first. Normally, Hitomi's professional attitude surpassed any and all awkward situations. But the arrogant guy with his ebony hair, the sunglasses he didn't feel the need to remove, and the wrinkly, bloody shirt looked a lot more built- no, let's call it "healthy"- than the average guys who came by the teaching clinic to get free urgent care. This wasn't even a guy. This, most definitely, was a **man**.

A man who was quite a sight to behold. Hitomi realized that not only was his facial complexion a lot darker than hers, but his skin was tan, no, bronze all over, making it ostensible that he was a native Fanelian, unlike her who had moved here from Northern Asturia a few years ago.

His dark skin spanneda slim, well-muscled stomach; a broad, equally toned chest; and nicely shaped shoulders and arms. Hitomi gulped and only somewhat regained her composure when the man carefully peeled the blood-soaked sleeve down an already bandaged upper arm. The bandage, of course, was soaked too.

It seemed like a fairly serious injury, and this finally caused Hitomi to snap out of it and back into professional nursing mode. "Good grief, where did you get this injury?"

The dark stranger froze in his movements for a second before answering. "Don't worry about it."

His evasive reply rubbed Hitomi the wrong way, but she decided not to question him any further for the moment. Getting his arm cleaned and wrapped up was more important right now.

Van was relieved by her reaction but then winced when she removed the dripping bandage. Her hands were quick and careful, but the sticky fabric pulled uncomfortably on the wound, making Van hiss and squirm in his seat. The injured arm jerked away by reflex.

"Hold still. You're only making it worse," she admonished him, pushing down on his shoulder to prevent his arm from moving out of her grasp again. The royal physicians, as dedicated as they were, usually apologized profusely at any small sign of discomfort from him when changing the bandages. Not her, though. How irritating and refreshing at the same time.

"Looks like a few stitches have come loose," she said, full of concern. "Obviously, I can't fix them with what I've got here, but I can use a taping technique that will hold that part of the wound together. It's likely going to scar a bit more at this point, seeing as how the healing process already started. Around a week ago, I'd judge?"

A pretty darn precise estimate. An estimate that would have maybe given him away anywhere else, but this woman was clearly not one to follow the news very closely.

"I don't care," Van replied finally.

He really didn't. It wasn't like many people would see it anyway, what with him being stuck wearing these awful formal suit jackets all the time. By Escaflowne's scaly hide, one of his first orders would be to completely re-design any and all of these damn suits. For the past years, Van and his sister had still been bound to the etiquette and traditions set in place by the long line of royals before them, but things were about to change drastically.

"Okay then," the woman replied and began rummaging through the box to retrieve a bottle of antiseptic. When she began to clean the bloody gash, a crease appeared between her eyebrows.

"How on Gaea did you even do this?" She couldn't help but inquire again. "The edges are all jagged and torn. Not something you'd get from anything I can think of except-"

She shook her head now, the thought being too silly to finish.

"Except from what?" Van couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Except from…being outside the walls, fighting a wild beast." Hitomi exhaled audibly after saying it. "But that's madness. Who would be idiotic enough to go out there?"

Who indeed? Van had to wholeheartedly agree with that last part, albeit quietly so and in his head.

This man, dressed in a once crisp button-down shirt, certainly didn't seem like the kind who would willingly head out for an adventure beyond the walls and make it back alive to tell the tale. Then again, he did look fairly strong. Hitomi couldn't help but be reminded of that fact as her eyes wandered back across his exposed upper body.

Nope. This was not the time for wandering thoughts. Most **definitely** not.

"I'm going to need you to push down on the dressing for a moment while I look for something," the blonde woman instructed him while rummaging around the box for more materials with one hand, while still applying pressure to the wound with the other.

Van wordlessly and obediently complied. It was truly something to behold. The temperamental prince of Fanelia normally did not like to follow anything that sounded like an order, especially not from physicians, and if he did, then not without making his extreme displeasure known.

He numbly reached around with his hand and placed it on the woman's smaller one which was pressed onto his upper arm, compressing the wound with a piece of thick gauze. His larger hand had firmly trapped hers in place. In response, her face immediately flushed a charming shade of red, and they stared at each other for the duration of several heartbeats.

"N…n…no, I mean…I need my hand," she stuttered charmingly.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry," Van replied, equally flustered, and let her retrieve the appendage from his hold.

She quickly claimed it while averting her face to go through the box again instead. "My name is Hitomi, by the way."

"Hi-to-mi," Van tested out her name slowly. It definitely was foreign. She likely hailed from one of the other kingdoms.

Her name sounded very different when he said it, and it somehow had a nice ring to it. The thought made Hitomi's heart beat oddly fast for a moment.

"What's yours?" she asked the man to distract herself from the feeling.

Shit. "Uh…never mind that," Van replied evasively. It came out a bit ruder than he had intended.

Hitomi pursed her lips at the answer. She had just begun to think that maybe he wasn't so arrogant after all, but clearly, she was mistaken.

"Suit yourself," Hitomi replied as she finally found what she had been looking for. What a weirdo. Undoubtedly good-looking but definitely weird. It would be best to get him out of here asap after making sure that wound was taken care of properly.

Hitomi unboxed the flex tape and cut a few strips off the roll while a strange silence lingered between them. The dark-haired stranger pulled a bit of a grimace again when she asked him to remove his hand and began to tape the top edge of the long gash. He groaned in response to the intense discomfort.

It obviously hurt, and no wonder since the wound was deep. Any sane person would be resting and taking it easy instead of wandering around buying coffee. Hitomi's eyes darted to the man's face right next to hers. He was watching her intently, probably to make sure she wasn't going to botch the job.

She finished stretching the last piece of tape across the wound and smoothed it down as gently as possible. Van's face tensed once again. "Just making sure it's sticking well to the skin. I stretched it pretty good, so the tape trying to revert back to its original length will pull the wound together.

"Ok, great," was all Van managed to say when he regarded her big eyes from behind the privacy of his shades. They were green, he now noticed. Her eyes. So green. At that moment, those green eyes flickered over to the side, distracted by something she saw outside. Van quickly turned his head to follow her gaze.

Damn. A royal security guard was right outside again, scanning the immediate area for any trace of him.

Van panicked. What if they saw him? Would they recognize him despite the hair and the sunglasses? In a desperate moment of sheer lunacy, he reached for Hitomi's shoulder and pulled her around to the other side, effectively shielding himself from view.

Hitomi shrieked a bit when he grabbed her with gentle but deliberate force and moved her. In her still slightly bent-over position, she lost her balance and nearly stumbled over her own feet, but Van caught her around the waist so that she landed on his lap instead.

Arms flailing briefly, Hitomi supported herself on the next best thing she could reach- a muscular shoulder and a solid portion of pectoral. If she hadn't been so shocked, she would have immediately scrambled back to her feet, but the guy had his one arm wrapped tightly around her waist while the other rested on her bare thigh, halfway under the short apron.

Color and heat tinted Hitomi's cheeks once more when she noticed how close their faces were. So close she could feel his breath brush across her face and feel the warmth radiating off his broad chest. What in the world was happening? Why was she not getting up right now?

Van gulped when he felt her slender form against his. She was clearly some kind of athlete, he decided when his hand on her bare thigh felt lean muscle there. This was most definitely more than he had bargained for. His eyes briefly darted back to the window on the side, taking note of the security guard who was now all too close to the storefront, attempting to look inside past the cursive writing that decorated a good part of the window with the coffee shop's name.

That's when the usually dignified, but stubborn prince of Fanelia panicked even more. For a lack of time to come up with a smart plan and to save his hide from being found, he unwrapped his good arm from Hitomi's waist, reached around the back of her head, and pulled it across the short distance between them.

Without much warning at all, poor Hitomi found her lips crushed against those of the man whose lap she was presently still trapped on.

Hitomi's grip on his shoulder and chest immediately tightened, her fingers digging into the muscles mass in either location. Van's eyes rolled back to the window nervously while his lips were locked with hers. The royal guard was turning his head away, seemingly embarrassed at having caught two lovers in an intimate moment.

He left only a moment later, but Van's lips didn't seem to want to detach themselves from the woman's silky, soft counterparts. Relaxing a bit, his eyes became half-closed, matching hers. This was exhilarating and just probably the most scandalous thing he had ever done.

Van couldn't resist and carefully moved his lips against hers, eliciting a small, muted noise from the woman who seemed to be resurfacing from her state of stupefaction. Just as fast as it had begun, it was over. A bit delayed, she finally recoiled in complete and utter shock and scrambled off Van's lap. His hands fell away, although a bit reluctantly, in the process.

"What on Gaea do you think you are doing?!" she exclaimed in a much more high-pitched voice than before. She touched her lips with the tips of her fingers before using the same hand to slap him so hard across his left cheek that the stupid sunglasses finally fell off his face and bounced onto the floor.

"You can't just **do** that!" she yelled angrily while taking another step away. "Who died and made **you** king of anything?!"

Van's head was still turned to the side from the force of her mighty slap. Hitomi stood across from him, panting a bit from anger and confusion while her hands were balled into tight fists. He slowly rose from the chair and retrieved his beloved shades, which had landed not too far away.

Straightening himself, a single chuckle filled with dark mirth escaped his mouth. He just couldn't help it right now. "My father," Van finally replied with a single, raised eyebrow as his garnet eyes caught her angry green ones.

That's when it hit Hitomi. The man's dark, native look, his wound which seemed to have been inflicted by a wild animal from beyond the wall, his reluctance when it came to telling her his name, and then those uncanny, garnet-red eyes. Of course. She had heard about it last week on the news but not really paid attention. The council of advisors had finally decided to send the youngest male heir of the royal family beyond the walls to complete the rite of dragon slaying. He had returned successfully but sporting a pretty gruesome wound.

Prince Van de Fanel undoubtedly looked a lot different in person than on a TV screen or in newspaper pictures. His hair was normally always impeccably styled, combed to the side or slicked back while dressed in expensive, tailored suits featuring the Fanelian crest and fancy embroidery.

It, indeed, was the worst day in Hitomi Kanzaki's life. Not only had she been soaked from head to toe by a surprise rain shower this morning, torn a lace on her favorite pair of sneakers, walked in on her two roommates making out with each other in their apartment living room, and dumped a whole, fresh carafe of coffee onto the floor behind the counter of the little coffee shop she worked in. She had also just slapped the heir to the throne of Fanelia. Quite hard.

Hitomi felt hot, then cold, then hot again for a whole array of reasons. Embarrassment, confusion, but most of all, anger. She gritted her teeth.

"You!" she hissed, eyes glinting with agitation. "You-" A slightly different expression on her face, her brows twitched, and she pointed a finger at Van across the distance as if she wanted to impale him with it.

Van could nearly see the gears in her head turning. "You?" he supplied dryly while Hitomi was still processing the events.

She sucked in a deep breath and repeated, "Y…you…your majesty...my…my most sincere apologies." She finally finished but crossed her arms in front of her chest defiantly, averting her gaze. "I had no idea it was you."

Her reaction then was somehow a bit disappointing but understandable given the circumstances. Van continued to be amused nonetheless.

He sighed and took a step closer to her, completely ignoring the fact that he was still shirtless in this establishment with very large windows. What she had settled on saying was betraying what she felt on the inside. Of course, she had every right to be angry after he had forced himself upon her out of the blue. Future king or not, such a behavior was unacceptable, and it was only due to a momentary lapse in judgment that he had allowed himself to act in such a despicable way.

"No," he finally sighed regretfully. "It's me who should apologize. Please forgive me. I was…only trying to escape the palace to spend an hour by myself. I've spent every day since returning from beyond the wall in my bed, being treated like some gravely wounded invalid. Next week, I'm supposed to be shouldering the burdens of an entire country, and all I wanted was a cup of coffee."

Why was he suddenly saying all these things, trying to justify himself in front of this woman? Why was he pouring his heart out to her? What nonsense was he blabbering? She finally looked back at him again with an expression he hadn't expected from her: pity.

This time it was him who almost recoiled in shock when Hitomi's gentle hand reached out for him. With a feather-light touch, she grazed his offended cheek, about to reply when her words were cut short.

The small bell above the door chimed violently as it opened. Only one individual Van knew could open a door with such panache. "Lord Van." His sword master's deep voice boomed across the small room.

Van's shoulders slumped when Hitomi's hand immediately pulled away from his face. She latched the other one onto it and began to knead her fingers awkwardly.

"You have had the whole palace going wild for the past hour. Everybody is looking for you," Balgus said in a calm but tense voice. His intimidating appearance doubtlessly was the reason for Hitomi's new, fearful facial expression.

Van rubbed the bridge of his nose before replying. "I know. Please give everybody my apologies."

It took a bit of convincing to ease Balgus' mind, and Van had a feeling that the man was making it difficult on purpose to make up for the trouble he had caused with his disappearance. No, Hitomi had certainly not harmed him. She had merely taken care of his wound after he had carelessly overexerted himself while out and about. It had been solely his fault for putting a strain on it, which had caused some of the stitches to loosen.

* * *

A month later, King Van Slanzar de Fanel rested his forehead against the heavy doors of his chamber. Finally, a moment of peace on this otherwise busy afternoon. It was as if everybody had done a complete 180 on him in the weeks following his coronation. Nobody lectured him anymore but instead offered council with bowed heads, seemingly bending to his every wish. It was fake, frustrating, and fodder for fury. Then he remembered something.

A small smile tugged on his lips when that particular thought came to mind. His fingers were still wrapped around the door handle of his chambers. Before re-opening it and slipping out, the king hurried over to his dresser to find his favorite shades while raking a hand through his hair in an attempt to mess it up as much as possible. Somebody still owed him a coffee.

 **Tbc…**

 **A/N:** Oookay I obviously took a lot of artistic freedom here, not explaining every detail but like I said, just roll with it for the sake of entertainment.


	2. Act 1, Chapter 2

**A/N:** I'm far enough in my outline so that I felt comfortable writing chapter 2. If any of the formattings looks funky, or you find spelling errors, please do excuse me. I edited it while traveling and on my phone.

A huge 'Thank you' goes out to Meghanna Starsong, my sharpest and friendliest critic, who has once again been instrumental in assisting me with this outline (which is still under construction).

 **[Edit 01/14/19: My awesome beta OfSilverRaindrops has finished editing this chapter. Thank you so much!]**

 _King of Anything_

Act 1, Chapter 2

 _In which Van finally gets his coffee but Escaflowne disapproves._

Fanelia's raven-haired king took similar, if not more, care whilst slipping out of the palace this time. His disguise was, once again, pivotal to the success of this little excursion. Granted, it was only the second time he was using it, but it seemed as if the scheme could offer him a much-needed breather from palace life when necessary.

Someone cleared their throat, and the noise sounded as if it were amplified through a tin can due to the nature of the source. The sound demanded immediate attention and emanated clear disapproval, echoing off the marble floor and walls. Van froze in mid-step down the deserted hallway just outside the royal apartments. Ah, but of course. He had nearly forgotten the grouchy sentry who was now never too far away.

Almost like a puppy, he usually followed Van around unless otherwise instructed. Turning, the king peered at the robot, who had stepped away from his guard post. Van was already mildly annoyed, because for the better part of the day he had been trailed by hordes of foreign and Fanelian members of the royal council. Sure, he usually had a daily agenda anyway, but this week was especially busy for various reasons.

The sentry in question, Escaflowne, had been in every ruling king's possession since the early days of Fanelian history. Purchased from the mysterious and elusive Ispano folk, the machine was a masterfully crafted protector and weapon. Considered a patron deity way back when, now more like a champion of Fanelia, Escaflowne had been rebooted again. Unlike other melefs of Fanelia, Asturia, Freid, Zaibach, or other countries south of the Big Seas, Escaflowne was unique.

The machine was tied to the king of Fanelia through a blood pact. To operate, it required the heart of a dragon. A drag energist had to be obtained by a worthy heir, and that meant hunting and slaying one of the beasts. Escaflowne could only be activated this way, and his service always ended, well, when the king ended. While other melefs were nothing more than drones, programmed to defend or perform manual labor, Escaflowne had a life and intelligence of his own.

"Going somewhere?" the robot inquired, much to the occasional dismay of his master.

Escaflowne's eyes glowed in what seemed like amusement through the slit of the robot's helmet. While he resembled a knight in traditional Fanelian samurai armor from generations past, his appearance had been thoroughly updated by the Ispano prior to this activation.

It was part of the service agreement to keep him under a lifetime warranty and up to the newest standards of Ispano technology. Improvements had been made which increased Escaflowne's degrees of freedom, allowed for more variety in his end effectors, as well as extended reach, payload, and repeatability.

"In a poor disguise unlikely to fool anyone, no less." Together with an update of his behavioral characteristics and language filter befitting a more modern Gaea. "Your father would highly disapprove."

And his internal memory storage, which had been expanded through another chip to add on to the centuries of knowledge stored away inside of him.

The machine towered over any human by a good three feet. His chassis was covered entirely by Ispano white, metal armor in mostly rectangular panels. The updated look still incorporated two diamond-shaped receptacles for green energists on each shoulder and one octagonal receptacle for the main energist on the left side of his breastplate, where a human's heart would be. This energist was the special one, the one Van had collected from the corpse of the dragon.

Escaflowne stood a few feet away from him, scowling as Van resumed being on his way. Despite the king's current mood, it was good to have Escaflowne back. The last time the sentry had been in operation was during his father's reign over the country, but it felt different now with him being the one to command it.

He still wasn't completely used to this monarch gig, burdened with decisions which affected not just him but everybody else in the kingdom. Although there were enough resources for advice in the form of an eager council-too many resources at times, really-he always put a great deal of thought into the consequences for each decision. Sure, he had been educated and well-prepared for years, but now it was real. It had felt different when Balgus was the steward of Fanelia, bound to rule within the tight guidelines set by ancient laws until the rightful heir finally claimed the throne.

"No need to follow," Van answered curtly, and as an afterthought he added, "Don't wait up."

He tossed his suit jacket with the Fanelian crest on the breast pocket towards the robot. Escaflowne's arm moved in a circular motion to reflexively catch the garment. While it wasn't uncommon for patriotic people to sport the diamond-shaped insignia with the dragon wings on clothing items, it would probably be better to not wear it right now.

The king's daily attire had finally been given a major overhaul. Pomp and gaudiness had been toned down, which allowed for more relaxed-fitting suits. He was especially glad of that when it came to the damn tight collars and the amount of embroidery on the old garments. There were more dark colors in his wardrobe now instead of screaming, royal red.

While Van casually made his way further down the hallway, Escaflowne's steps and robotic voice echoed behind him. "I'm compelled to inform you how absolutely terrible of an idea…"

Closing the heavy fire door to the emergency exit behind himself, the machine's last few words were muffled considerably. While Escaflowne's primary objective was to protect the royal family and Fanelian citizens from harm, the robot's programming was still slaved to Van's commands. He sighed in relief and descended the old, slightly uneven, stone steps of the narrow staircase. The main structure of the palace was still original, but plenty of renovations over the last decades had altered the overall appearance just like the rest of the city.

Old Town Fanelia, which included the buildings close by the palace and the palace itself, were the most reminiscent of the ancient, historical architecture. The core structures of most buildings were made from solid stone cut from massive boulders by stonemasons centuries ago. In the long ago past, when men rode into battle on the backs of Yerkle and no walls protected the citizens from the fury of dragons native to this part of Gaea.

Now, many, many lifetimes later, the original houses and storefronts had been modernized with materials such as glass and steel whenever alterations or renovations were performed. As the largest structure, the royal palace still remained the focal point. Built atop of a high plateau, the natural terrain of the mountain slopes it sat on were enforced with another protective, metal layer. This doubled as the last line of defense for those inhabiting the palace. Luckily, the armament hiding inside the casing had never seen the light of day since it had been installed by Van's great-grandfather.

A bit further outward from Old Town, the foundations of the first wall were still visible in some places as a concentric circle closer to the palace. The wall had been torn down several times to provide more space for a prosperous, growing city. Each time it had been relocated, it had been rebuilt with upgraded materials or updated as time passed and more modern defenses emerged. Further northeast, a tall mountain range with sharp peaks enclosed the city from the back like a natural barrier.

It took awhile for Van to make his way out of the palace, although avoiding people who were more accustomed to seeing him in a less formal state proved to be suspiciously easy. Nobody seemed to even pay attention to him. Turns out, Escaflowne's worries were very unfounded. His disguise was downright impeccable! As he strode across the courtyard, a radio blared pop music from the guard post not far off.

Royal security guards were hardly alert, talking to each other about upcoming plans for days off and some such stuff. One of the larger men in royal crimson enthusiastically tapped his booted foot to the beat of the music and mimicked the female singer's voice with his own high-pitched falsetto. It made Van cringe a bit.

The courtyard was fairly wide, originally intended for military formations back in the day or ceremonies such as coronations, parades, weddings, and whatnot. He passed the round, blue and white flower mosaic in the center of it shortly after,the one he'd kneeled on while being crowned king not long ago. That ceremony had been annoyingly stiff and followed a bunch of ancient rituals. Really though,were other kingdoms still so backward too when it came to all this?

It'd been a while since Merle and he had last gone on any diplomatic trips, but he was pretty sure the heir of, say, Egzardia wasn't required to wear a full-on armor complete with helmet and cape at their coronation. On the other hand, there was also a good chance they didn't consider a razor-sharp samurai sword to be the ruling symbol of their monarch. Van had always appreciated the sword itself and the art of wielding it in training, but actually using it in combat, to kill something, was very different than anything could have prepared him for.

The royal sword was an heirloom passed down through generations, and the thought of holding something which tied him to the long line of kings before him filled Van with pride. The sword was, without a doubt, his most valuable possession.

Thing is, it should have been Folken's. His brother, who had for some reason failed at passing the rite of dragon slaying. Even after tossing the issue around in his head for years, Van couldn't figure out what had happened. There'd never been any rescue missions or search parties either. On this quest, the heir to the throne was on his own. If he died, he died. Not the best odds considering what they were up against, but customs wouldn't allow someone to rule if they weren't worthy.

One would think this whole ordeal with Escaflowne, slaying a dragon by hand, and the energist made zero sense. Why would a king well-versed in mortal sword combat need a machine such as Escaflowne? Kind of pointless, right?

Wrong.

Apparently, the Ispano had been instrumental in ensuring that Fanelia was well guarded before a wall had first been constructed. A king responsible for protecting his citizens needed a badass sidekick, after all. Before him, Escaflowne had been under his father's command. The robot remembered Van from the time he'd been active then, but after Goau Fanel was taken by a deadly disease, Escaflowne went into a temporary idle state until Van awakened it with the new energist.

The sentry had recognized him immediately after activation, had memory storage devoted to Van and all their interactions, but now, due to the upgrades and change in ownership, the mood between them was something else. Maybe it was also due to the altered settings in Escaflowne's software or whatever it was the machine operated on now. Obviously, Ispano technology had made progress in the last years, but what the robot's inner workings looked like, only they knew.

For the most part, Van supposed Escaflowne's endoskeleton was made similarly to the melef drones which guarded armored mining convoys traveling beyond the wall each day. So yes, people did go outside daily, but it was only specially trained workers who stayed on established and guarded routes. Nobody in their right mind would deviate from that.

Thankfully, it had been weeks since the last dragon incident outside the wall. Even then, those drones programmed to protect the armored vehicle convoys had been able to take care of it. Dragons were fierce but not immortal. They favored the climate in this part of Gaea and only very few strayed into other regions.

For this reason, Fanelia was home to the only dragon graveyards on the charted globe, which made it the prime exporter for drag energists. Since a good part of Gaean technology operated on this power source, the small country of Fanelia was a critically important member of international trade proceedings.

That's also why so many countries had diplomatic reps residing in Fanelia. Good relations with the only source for drag energist power was essential.

Van never understood why his ancestors had chosen to set up camp here so long ago before modern technology was even a thing. Who builds a city in the most dragon-infested piece of this continent? His people, apparently. Sure, history books had been shoved under his nose just as soon as he'd been able to read. Not that they weren't interesting, but a bit more freedom to choose other material would have been nice every now and again.

But there was no use in griping about it now. His heritage, the throne, while the general public and the paparazzi made it seem all kinds of extravagant, required a great deal of self-sacrifice. The only reason Van really never griped about it too much was that he truly cared for his people. His pride in his country, even though dragon-infested, prevailed above all. And, of course, the love for his adopted sister.

Merle had joined the family when Van was so small he couldn't recall a time without her around. Not that he wanted to. Sassy and opinionated as she was, his sister was an anchor to normal life in the palace, a palace so big it sometimes felt like he'd get metaphorically and literally lost. He even still felt this way now as a man in his early twenties.

Actually, he felt like that especially while passing through the massive wrought iron gate, the entrance and exit which lead to a wide staircase flanked by two sets of elevators on either side. It was the main and only convenient way to get on and off the palace plateau. People were already lined up to leave after a day of diplomatic games at court, men in suits carrying briefcases and women in modest dresses and heels with large purses.

Some looked tired but happy to leave, waiting to get to their homes down in the city, the royal court only a place of business, unlike for Van. After all, the king worked **and** lived here. That's why he needed a bit of a break. Some time to himself. Right now!

Nobody ever took the stairs, especially not up. Except before there were elevators, of course. It took about five minutes of walking to get all the way down and climbing the stairs was an entirely different workout altogether. Van didn't mind, especially not because it meant his chances for being recognized by an observant council member were pretty much slim to none. Again, not that anybody was even looking. They probably all thought he either worked here too or was the stuck-up son of a diplomat. All the better for him.

The only area where he encountered a few people again was towards the bottom where pedestrians sometimes liked to hang out. The narrow cobblestone streets of Old Town around the palace were popular with hip, young people for taking pictures, sometimes with the palace way up as a backdrop. Some of them liked to sit on the stairs to eat ice cream or drink a cup of coffee from one of the chains along the small square. A cup of coffee like the young man he was passing. A subpar coffee served in a disposable togo cup.

Van wrinkled his nose. Nope, he needed the real thing. A coffee brewed from freshly roasted beans that didn't come from an industrial-sized machine made to satisfy the craving of hordes of people every day. Good coffee required love and care in preparation and was served in a ceramic mug. A rather large one, if at all possible. Could he have gotten a stellar cup of coffee in the kitchens at the palace? Yeah, sure, but it defied the purpose. He just wanted to feel carefree for a bit, and that wasn't going to happen up there.

In that quaint shop not too long ago, he had gotten a very homey vibe, and that wasn't just because the young woman behind the counter had basically halfway undressed him as if it was their shared home they'd been in. Van's steps slowed a bit at the thought, and he paused at the mouth of the familiar, narrow alley. He'd been so full of drive to get there and redeem the promise of a cup of that steaming hot goodness that he had forgotten all about the rather…scandalous incident weeks ago.

Some mad luck it was that nobody but Balgus, the lady, and him seemed to know about it. It would have been the headline of the month, and he hated being on the cover of those paparazzi magazines.

Too late for second thoughts. The air was already redolent with the rich aroma of dark roast, the scent stealing out through the cracked door of the little old coffee shop only a short distance away. It was enveloping Van, beckoning him closer to the source. The dark magic spell was just too strong. He wasted no time in making his way there albeit still wary of what would happen if **she** was really there again.

The little bell Balgus had abused so violently gave a bit of a muted ding when he entered. There was a small crowd of other customers this time, but sure enough, a mop of short, honey-colored hair was visible behind the heads in front of him. Not a long line, but a few people, just like him, obviously still appreciated the slow pace of a little mom and pop coffee shop like this. These people didn't rush through life, but instead took the time to sit down and enjoy the simple pleasure of savoring a cup of fresh brew.

The line moved slowly, but it didn't bother anyone as everyone patiently awaited the careful attention given by…what was her name again?

"Hitomi!"

Right.

"Hey, Yukari," Hitomi cheerfully greeted a redheaded woman in green scrubs in front of Van. "Nice of you to stop by. Do you just want the usual?"

"Yes, but make it a triple shot of espresso, pretty please. I need it badly," the woman named Yukari responded while stifling a yawn with the back of her hand.

"You got it," Hitomi promised and got to work.

Van could see a bit better now. She looked just the same but was in a pair of jeans and a white shirt under the green apron. His palms became a bit sweaty, and the cheek she had administered the impressive slap to tingled all of the sudden. Damn. Maybe he should leave.

Of course, right at that moment, she turned around and placed the large cup and saucer in front of the redhead on the counter and saw him. Her eyes flickered to the side briefly, then widened in recognition.

* * *

Yukari liked to stop by the little coffee shop Hitomi worked at on the way home whenever she could. They didn't always have the same shifts at the teaching hospital. Of course, having a hookup for the best coffee money could buy was an incentive to come here above all else.

Hitomi turned away from the back counter and served her friend. She then almost dropped the cup when she saw who was standing behind Yukari. What in the seven hells…

Her eyes widened and her brows shot up. Was this really?

Yep, it definitely was. No other than the king of Fanelia, incognito again and looking like a young business professional in dark navy slacks and a white button-down shirt with sleeves rolled up to just under his elbows. He was next in line after her best friend and roommate. With his raven hair disheveled and wearing the same mirrored shades again, he looked too effortlessly handsome to be completely inconspicuous. Hitomi's heart skipped a beat when he raised a finger and placed it on his lips, motioning for her to keep his presence a secret.

His lips. The sight made her heart skip another beat, and her hands went cold. All of this happened in a matter of seconds. Yukari seamlessly accepted the cup from Hitomi before she squealed so suddenly it forced Hitomi to direct her undivided attention back to her.

"I almost forgot!" Yukari trilled, full of excitement. "Amano's brother will be in Fanelia later this week, and you won't believe it! He said he could get us into the Mystic Moon!"

The Mystic Moon was Fanelia's hippest and most extravagant nightclub. It was named after the phantom moon visible in Gaea's sky behind its smaller twin. Neither of them had ever been there, because it was nearly impossible for normal folk to get in. It was a ritzy place for rich people and kids of diplomats to party the night away.

No wonder Yukari was excited. It wasn't that Hitomi didn't like to dance or go out to party. She did, but the thought of spending a well-deserved evening trying to unwind and have a good time in the company of people she wouldn't normally have anything to do with made her feel a bit weird. Not like they were likely to schmooze with Fanelia's high-society. These people could probably tell from a mile away that their clothing wasn't name brand and that this definitely wasn't their normal stomping ground.

Well, at least she'd have Yukari and Amano. After the day she had walked in on them making out, they had finally declared their relationship status as official. The fact that they were all roommates luckily didn't have to change even after that. They had known each other long enough, but walking in on them practically piled on top of each other had still been an unexpected shocker.

Yukari's now-boyfriend, Amano, who was one year their senior, had been in Fanelia already a few months before they came and started college. He had been an accomplished athlete in Asturia and gotten multiple offers for sports scholarships from colleges around Gaea. Then ultimately he'd chosen to move to Fanelia and pursue an education in engineering and whatever else that entailed.

Although Amano and Allen were twin brothers, they had different styles and interests, so Hitomi and Yukari never got to know him well. Especially not after moving halfway across the continent. Allen had opted for a completely different line of work and was now the head of security to Asturia's princess, Millerna Aston. If Allen was going to be here, that meant Princess Millerna was likely the reason for his upcoming presence.

"We need to talk outfits later tonight!" Yukari was already beginning to scheme.

"Sounds like fun," Hitomi lied successfully and watched Yukari nod and motion to a table in the corner.

"Don't want to hold up your line. I'll be right here, reviewing a few pages in our beloved tome of anatomy while you work," Yukari said while already moving towards it.

Hitomi held her breath when her friend turned and nearly bumped into the tall man behind her. She briefly looked at him and smiled while shuffling past him. "S'cuse me."

"Ok, great," Hitomi replied while face to face with the dark-haired man, who had been patiently looming behind her best friend until now.

That-smug-look on his face. Okay, maybe it wasn't intentional, but he clearly came off as smug. It was actually, probably, just the sunglasses. Hitomi couldn't tell what he was really looking at and that bothered her. He did, of course, have a good reason for hiding though. So what! The reigning monarch wanted some coffee. No big dealio.

Dragonshit.

Of course, it was a big deal. Why was he here again of all places?

 _Oh drat, that's right_ , Hitomi remembered. Again, all this took place in a fraction of a second. Before he could even speak, she turned towards the back counter and filled one of the large mugs to the brim with piping hot coffee.

"Black, right? On the house," Hitomi said while sliding it across the counter towards him with as much of a neutral expression as she could muster. It unintentionally may have come out a bit rude. Good thing nobody was paying attention, because she clearly wasn't good at pretending like this was an absolutely normal transaction.

"Thank you," the disguised king said with the hint of a warm smile. Fine, maybe he really hadn't intended to come off as smug, but seeing him again right here made her remember that incident with such clarity, as though it had only just happened yesterday.

The way she had shamelessly unbuttoned his shirt as if he was just a regular guy off the street. His warm hand on top of hers while stopping the bleeding on his wounded upper arm. And then, of course, sitting on his lap, and….and…

Their encounter, although brief, was something she'd probably never forget.

It was so crazy she'd never even told anybody about it. Yukari was her best friend, but even she would have laughed. Yeah, right. The king himself, waltzing into the shop disguised as a commoner. Recounting Hitomi's own clumsiness would have definitely checked out, but the picture-book accident, like a scene from a silly rom-com, she probably wouldn't have believed either.

For a while, she'd even convinced herself that it hadn't really happened. Not until she had found one of the paparazzi magazines Yukari loved so much open on the coffee table a few days later. It was turned to a page that had several pictures of ' _The Most Eligible Bachelors on Gaea '_ on a double-page spread.

Undeniably, it had been him: his stature, the hair, the dark skin, and garnet red eyes. Unique, garnet-red eyes that were at this moment hidden to the world by only a pair of sunglasses. A pair of sunglasses attached to the very man standing right on the other side of the counter, still offering her a gentle half-smile.

Hitomi took a calm breath. He actually hadn't been completely insufferable even after she had, very deservedly, defended herself by slapping him so hard it'd immediately left a searing, red mark. Not a permanent one, as far as she could tell, thankfully. Come to think, did they still execute people here?

Now that she thought of it, the way to dispose of severe offenders in Fanelia was to ban them beyond the wall. But really, that hadn't happened in decades. It was a severely antiquated form of punishment. Eaten alive by a dragon? Probably not the law of the land anymore. Although…

"You're welcome," Hitomi finally forced herself to say as casually as possible.

A side glance at Yukari confirmed that her friend was anything but attentive anymore after a, no doubt, hectic day at the hospital. Some days, patients demanded a whole lot of energy besides the free care they provided.

The tall, dark, and handsome man in front of her finally accepted the mug and was about to walk away but then reached into his trouser pocket. With a smooth movement, he dropped a crisp, folded bill into the tip jar full of coins and then found a seat at a tiny table on the far side. He sat sideways in the chair, leaning his back against the wall and propped one arm up on the table to hold the mug possessively even while he wasn't drinking.

Hitomi decided she'd try not to care that King Van Fanel was casually sitting on the other side of the room, although this course of action was, naturally, sure to compel her to care even more.

Leaning against the wall behind him, he looked like his eyes could be closed, but Hitomi thought she saw him tilt his head her way every now and again. She served a few more customers and then busied herself with some cleanup. Admittedly, she caught herself sneaking some glances here and there too. Okay, maybe more than just here and there.

Hey, nobody in their right mind would blame her if they knew what was up. It wasn't even just because he was the king of all Fanelia that she caught herself looking. He was, as previously mentioned, also very easy on the eyes. Especially with his shirt off.

No! Not that! Any thought but that!

Hitomi quickly ducked behind the counter and cupped her flaming cheeks in cool palms. She almost fell over backward when Yukari's head appeared from above.

"What are you doing down there?" her friend asked.

Hitomi quickly snatched a clean rag from the pile on the little shelf next to her. "Just looking for this," she said weakly while it dangled in her grasp.

"Ah. Well, I'm gonna go now. Amano and I will get dinner started. Should be ready by the time you get home," Yukari waved briefly while Hitomi straightened back up.

The redness on her face was still present, but what was there to do about it?

"Cool. I'm going to close at six," Hitomi said despite the nervousness.

"Say, " Yukari finally asked, "are you okay?"

Her façade had obviously not been convincing after all. Was she okay? Hells no, the king of Fanelia was sitting mere feet away. Was Yukari really not seeing that?

"Yes! Of course," Hitomi answered, almost a bit too fast while her disobedient eyes stole a glance at the raven-haired man not far away.

Yukari briefly narrowed her eyes but then turned and walked towards the door. "You're such a weirdo sometimes. Later!"

Hitomi breathed a sigh of relief when her friend left. There was no telling what would have happened if Yukari had found out just who was sitting by the wall, now idly playing with the handle of the mug. It was astonishing that she hadn't recognized him right off the bat.

Yukari was one of those people who loved gossip about high society and read magazines published by the paparazzi during lunch breaks. Was the king's disguise really this good? No. No, it absolutely wasn't! Now that she looked at him again, it was totally obvious. Anybody should be able to tell. Who was dense enough to not recognize somebody just because they decided to sport a pair of glasses and mess up their hair?

Turns out everybody, including her, actually. She hadn't recognized him the first time either, but attributed it to the fact that she didn't follow the high society news and never made it a point to sift through papers or magazines looking at pictures of ' _The Most Eligible Bachelors on Gaea '._ And if she did, then most certainly not the royal-blooded kind. The kind like the man staring in her direction now.

Big yikes. She had been caught looking directly at him. A gigantic sweatdrop formed on the backside of her head when she noticed that the king was staring right back at her. How long had she been gawking? Seconds? Minutes? This was mortifying.

She began to panic a bit when he rose from the old, worn chair and sauntered right up to the counter. Without much ado at all, he placed the empty mug before her.

"Thank you for the coffee," he said and then pushed it a bit further her way before adding quietly, so that none of the last few people in the small room could hear, "I apologize for bothering you."

Great, now she felt bad. Hitomi reached out instinctively and groped for the empty coffee mug, staring at her own reflection in his shades while distinctly remembering what his eyes had looked like up close. Her fingers brushed his warm hand, but he didn't hurry to retract it.

At least he had good manners and was nice enough to bring his dishes back. Further confirmation that he maybe wasn't such a bad guy. Less of an enigmatic, royal pain than Yukari's magazines depicted him to be. In the pictures she did see every now and again, King Van Fanel looked untouchable, serious, and rarely smiled. He was always wrapped in an invisible cloak of admiration, adulation, and respect, and that showed in his demeanor, the demeanor of a royal who never let his guard down.

So much unlike now. Right now, in this cozy, friendly place, he looked like he felt…comfortable. Like he was able to let his guard down for at least a short while. Maybe that's why he was here. He had said something along those lines after the…incident. Gods be damned, she really needed to stop calling it that. It had been a kiss. His lips had been on hers, full on.

Then, after she'd delivered her retribution, he'd apologized, and it seemed to have been sincere. After that, he had justified his desperate course of action. Hiding from his guards and wanting to be alone for a minute had been the very simple reason for that shorted circuit in his brain. Something about wanting to feel normal and not like the fate of all Fanelia was going to be resting on his shoulders soon.

Well, now it was. The weight. Resting on his shoulders. But he was carrying it well enough so far as she was aware. Even she had read the announcements and news articles about his coronation not long ago and seen him in the ceremonial armor. A bit olden-timey, but a guy like him, emanating that kind of swag, could probably look good in anything.

There they were again: uncalled for thoughts that would lead nowhere. Although he wasn't making any haste in retrieving his hand from under hers, or was he? She chanced a glance there.

* * *

The woman's eyes flickered to their barely touching hands, and it made Van snap out of this frozen moment in time. Although the effect of the delicious coffee had him on high alert, the spellbinding power of the honey blonde's green eyes was stronger.

This situation was quite unusual. He felt so at home in the little coffee shop, had enjoyed sitting there by himself, sipping some hot brew out of an old, overused mug scratched inside and out from stirring spoons and endless use.

It was exactly what he'd needed, but he hadn't bargained on being so captivated by seeing **her** again. It was really him who was to blame for all the awkwardness. If he hadn't used her so shamelessly, stolen a kiss just to hide his ass, they wouldn't be in this situation now. Maybe sneaking out of the palace wasn't such a good idea after all. It only caused trouble.

Maybe Escaflowne had been right. Not that he'd ever admit that of course. Not out loud, at least. Van finally and carefully retrieved his hand and offered the woman another hint of a smile. He hoped it looked genuine enough to convey everything he had just thought about, because there wasn't really ever going to be a chance to talk about it again.

Van forced himself to leave, but he could still feel the ghost of her touch on the back of his hand when he began to climb the palace steps. Rubbing the tingling spot across his trousers, he shook his head. Why was this bothering him so much though? What exactly was his problem?

 **Tbc…**

 **A/N:** Since this is an AU, I had to establish a lot and I hope it's not confusing so far. I'm pumped for modern high-society Gaea with olden timey influences and hope you are too.


	3. Act 1, Chapter 3 (pt1)

**[Edit 02/02/2019: Updating this chapter as edited by my awesome friend and Beta OfSilverRaindrops. You're amazing! Thank you for improving the quality of my work.]**

 _King of Anything_

Act 1, Chapter 3, Part 1

 _In which Celena curtsies and Allen drinks Martini._

It was quite rare that Fanelia's royals received visitors from the ruling family of other countries, what with the dragon infestation and all. It was also quite rare that the king was anything but thrilled about the attention public treatments of foreign relations would get in his precious free time. Except, maybe when the one visiting was a dear friend he'd known since childhood.

Only a few years his senior, Princess Millerna Aston was the youngest of the ruling Asturian king's daughters. A tragic illness had taken the middle sister, Marlene, so the loss of a sibling was something which created an even stronger friendship between them.

Relations between Asturia and Fanelia were supposed to be deepened a few years ago after Folken claimed the throne, but then the whole fiasco with the rite of dragon slaying happened. Needless to say, that whole plan went "poof." It would have been easy enough; Millerna's older sister, Eries, was supposed to wed Folken. They would have made such a great pair, and it was no wonder that Eries was completely down in the dumps about his death. Not only had they known each other since they were little, but they actually had harbored real feelings for each other, a rare thing for such unions.

The strategy changed after that and Marlene's death. Eries was instead to take the Asturian throne, since the laws were progressive enough to let a woman rule alone there. In the end, she was too shaken by Folken's death to do so, even now still mourning after all these years. It was unlikely that Eries, although appearing reserved and seemingly strong on the outside, would ever recover from her broken heart.

What a mood killer it was to think about all that again right as the gates in the wall opened to admit the armored vehicle convoy. They were bringing in the visitors who had landed at the airstrip not far from the city perimeters. Luckily, no dragons had been sighted in the area around that time, but just in case a good number of the melef drones had been sent on patrol. The airstrip was really just a paved area in the woods with a few bunker-like hangars which housed equipment and the royal jet. Staff communicated with and coordinated flights remotely.

Just like everything else, levi ships had also evolved over time to become aerodynamic metal pieces of engineered ingenuity. They were still powered by levi stones at their core, but the energy was now more thoroughly harnessed. Thanks to mechanical designers and progress in technology, they looked less like ships which sailed the oceans and were much, much faster.

If civilians wanted to travel to other countries, there were enough commercial services which overlayed in Fanelia for a short time for them to do so. However, none had their home base here- no surprise there. On occasion, dragons could be spotted from high up in the air. Seeing one was kind of cool, but only if you didn't consider the havoc they could wreak upon that small, pressurized metal tube if given the chance.

While Van and Merle stood on the mosaic in the palace square, waiting to officially greet the royal envoy, the king couldn't help but grin a bit as Merle took special care to chew her gum as discreetly as possible to avoid it being taken from her. She was looking forward to seeing Millerna, since they both were party girls at heart. He already dreaded this evening when they would drag him along to the Mystic Moon, Millerna's favorite place to visit when in Fanelia.

Van wasn't fond of the nightclub. Oodles of odd high-society folk liked to dance the night away there, usually several notches too imbibed. In the occasion that he did show his face there, women vied for his attention, and men in positions of leadership or high office tried to pander to him without shame, hoping to reach new heights in their careers. As if a whiff of vodka from their mouths would sway Van in their favor.

More than once, he'd wished he could give them a firm nudge and watch them fall over only to be collected by security, but he couldn't be seen doing that. Even though, no doubt, many of them woke up crapulous the next day, memories slowly dawning on them about how they had embarrassed themselves in front of the king. Sadly though, he was the head of his country and required to treat people with respect even when they were drunk off their asses, especially if they were related to diplomatic offices from other countries.

But anyway, this was a problem for future Van. Present Van actually cracked a smile when he saw Princess Millerna exit the elevators first and confidently make her way towards him as the forefront of the entourage. She hadn't changed much from the last time they'd seen her, except that she was even more radiant. No wonder her father had her protected so well.

A whole group of guys in navy blue suits along with a younger woman in a white sundress tagged along not far behind. The princess herself wore light pink, her favorite color, and the dress itself, although proper enough, still hugged her body snugly. With her long, wavy blonde hair and periwinkle eyes, she was nothing short of stunning. Hey, nobody could blame a guy for noticing those things. She was standing right in front of them by now, after all.

As soon as elaborate greetings between the king, the princesses, and the officials concluded, some pictures were taken from the few press representatives who had been admitted. Then the group was off towards the palace, where everybody finally was able to relax again after the double doors shut tightly behind them. Millerna's high heels click-clacked even through the crimson carpet covering the marble floor before the three royals came to a stop.

Not able to contain her excitement anymore, Merle squealed and both women hugged tightly in a proper greeting which prompted another, rare smile from the usually reserved king. "I'm so excited you're here, Millerna!" Merle exclaimed as the other princess hugged her back tightly.

"Me too!" Millerna replied and then held Merle at arm's length. "Wow, your hair is so different! I barely recognized you at first glance. You look more mature."

"Oh, but wait," Merle laughed and reached into the pockets of her blue etui dress only to retrieve two rubber bands. While chewing her gum shamelessly, she made quick work of the pink tresses and had them back up in her trademark buns on the top of her head. "Better?"

"Much better. Now you look more like the cute kitten I used to know." Millerna nodded, pearly whites showing through a satisfied smile.

Van snorted a bit with a slightly raised eyebrow at the comment. Sweet kitten? More like a sly fox at times. Oh, well. Much love, though.

With so many unfamiliar faces behind Millerna, a few more introductions were in order. On cue, a guy with long, blonde hair and the only other woman in the group approached.

Millerna motioned for them to come closer. "Van, this is Allen. He is my new head of security."

The blonde guy bowed lightly at the waist. "King Van," Allen greeted him politely and introduced the rest of the crew, who also bowed . "Behind me are our pilot and my second, Gaddess, as well as Reeden, Kio, Ort, Pyle, Katz, and Teo."

"…and this lovely lady is his sister, Celena," Millerna continued. "She may look innocent, but don't let that fool you. She hopes to become a member of Asturian security too. Until then, she's permitted to shadow Allen and the rest of the guys."

Celena, the young woman in question, offered both Fanelian royals a perfect curtsy. "Your Highnesses."

Merle immediately liked her, Van could tell. She nodded eagerly, sensing an ally and fellow party girl only waiting for a chance to show it.

"You can call me Merle when we're alone. It's totally fine. I can already tell we're going to get along well. Just wait until tonight when you get your first taste of Fanelia out and about. We're all going to the Mystic Moon! It's the best nightclub in town!" Noticing Van's scowl, she elbowed him gently in the ribs. "It's going to be awesome. I'm there with my friends a lot, but it's going to be even better with you all."

Van was fully aware of how well she was plowing through his lack of enthusiasm- with the unyielding strength of a pack mule. Really though, it was good to have Millerna and her together. One, because he hoped that Merle would take on some of Millerna's more mature qualities, and two, because having a friend like her around made the palace instantly feel warmer.

* * *

The Mystic Moon's location was easily visible from anywhere in the capital because of its sky beam. A solid, blue column of light shone straight up into the inky night sky like a guiding beacon, and young Fanelians flocked to it on weekend evenings like moths to a lamp. Likewise, Hitomi, Yukari, and Amano were on their way there.

Being that it was a Saturday night, the streets were livelier than during the week. Some restaurants had extended seating outside in the pedestrian zone and on sidewalks. Groups of people enjoyed a late dinner, and friends sat together for a glass of wine and to talk story. Hitomi would have much preferred to do so too, but Yukari was too excited to see the club for the first time. She didn't want to be a downer even though the prospect of mingling with a crowd of strangers didn't appeal to her. She at least owed her best friend an attempt at fun.

So there they were, ready to party. While Amano wasn't dressed much different than usual in a pair of slacks and polo shirt, the girls had taken the opportunity to wear things bought on a whim during shopping sprees which likely would never fit another occasion. Yukari sported a purple, strapless dress and was proud to have matched it with her favorite heels to ensure maximum dance capability.

Hitomi had, after some persuasion from Yukari, finally given in and cut the tag off a pair of hunter green shorts made from some velvet-like fabric she'd had in the back of her closet for longer than she could remember. They were tighter than she would have liked, but she'd sort of committed to at least wearing them once now with the tag cut off. A pair of strappy, black heels in addition had even made her bestie whistle at the sight of her legs. Too bad her usual sneakers really weren't an option.

Thankfully, combined with a long-sleeved, ivory high-collar blouse, the outfit looked more classy than trashy.

The Mystic Moon was located in one of the historic mansions in Old Town not far from where they lived. It had been renovated on the inside and some on the outside, thereby keeping the original structure and charm of the building intact.

The line to get in already wrapped around the corner, and by the looks of the people in that line, they'd been waiting for a good while. Some left eventually when it wasn't moving for a long time or were turned away by the hostess for random reasons after finally making it to the front. Few hid their looks of disappointment as they walked off, apparently too casually dressed or not important-looking enough to be admitted.

Great. They were even sending people away for wearing the wrong clothing. Another reason Hitomi didn't feel like this was the place for them. There was a separate line for those who were on the guest list. It made Hitomi feel weird to bypass all the other people, but Yukari marched up to the hostess with such confidence that she had to admire her.

The woman eyed them suspiciously when Yukari announced that they were on the guest list. She scanned their attire, taking her sweet time, then finally clicked her tongue. They probably reeked of peasant, but Yukari was calmly smiling at her, imperturbable as always. When the hostess scanned the guest list, her red lips curled in a somewhat dissatisfied manner, because she couldn't turn them away.

"Go on," was all she said and motioned for the giant mountain of a bouncer behind her to let them pass. He grunted in acknowledgment and used one of his meaty arms to pull open the nearest one of the brushed steel double doors next to him.

Yukari beamed at him in passing and Hitomi wasn't far behind, followed by Amano. Sound waves of a pumping bass hit them before their eyes adjusted to the visual overload that was the inside of the club.

In front of them, a buzzing mass of people was dancing and drinking, moving through a kaleidoscope of colors. Although the club was mostly dark, light emanated from the insides of glass tables, the structure of the bar areas in different locations throughout the club, and pillars that went all the way up to the ceiling. It made for an otherworldly kind of mood and looked as if the place had been built with cosmic mortar. A big disco ball was mounted right in the center of the tall, vaulted ceiling and reflected the colorful lights around the club, casting stars across any surface it could reach.

"Wow," Hitomi allowed herself to say.

Yukari elbowed her, giggling. "This is awesome!"

Hitomi laughed. "Okay, this **is** pretty cool."

Amano couldn't help but admire the ambience too. While there were small tables to sit or stand by around the sides, the middle was reserved mainly for dancing. Busy waitresses dressed in black expertly weaved through the crowd to deliver drinks to thirsty guests.

"Come on! Let's find Allen!" Yukari yelled in Hitomi and Amano's direction while taking her boyfriend's hand and dragging him along. Hitomi followed them as they made their way around the side of the dancing crowd, dodging a few people who were so immersed in their moves that they had strayed from the rest.

Allen had sent a message a few days ago letting them know that they were on the guest list for this evening and that he'd be near the VIP area, mainly off duty with his second, Gaddess, in command but still close to the princess. Fanelia was known for being extremely safe due to good diplomatic relations, but being overly cautious never hurt.

"I see him," Amano announced, pointing to a set of three wide steps straight towards the back. A long, red carpet was spread across the floor there and led up the stairs with another hostess desk occupied by a duo much like that at the front door.

Not far behind the thick velvet rope which separated the VIP area from that of the common people, a man in a dark blue suit with a martini glass stood half-facing the crowd and lazily scanned the area down where the three friends were. Although Hitomi knew that Amano and Allen were twins, seeing a nearly identical copy of Amano smile warmly at them was strange. Their features were strikingly similar.

The only difference was the hair. While Amano's was chestnut brown, Allen's was platinum blonde. It was the wildest thing. Hitomi tried to remember the few times she'd seen Allen during their younger years and if his hair had been this shade or not. Perhaps some hydrogen peroxide had been used to help with that.

As they neared the stairs, Allen lifted a hand in greeting. He moved to meet them halfway after the hostess stepped over to unhook the rope for him so he could exit the VIP area. His long hair trailed behind him while descending the stairs, and Hitomi noticed it drew an obvious look of admiration from the hostess. No wonder. Allen was quite the looker in many regards, tall and handsome like his brother but with a different style.

Allen deposited his Martini glass on a tall side table in passing, this one illuminated pink from the inside. The guys wasted no time in greeting each other with a manly hug and slapped each other on the back.

"Hey, little brother," Allen greeted Amano.

Amano rolled his eyes. "Don't start that again. By two minutes…," he trailed off, shaking his head lightly, knowing that their never-ending argument already had a longer beard than Emperor Dornkirk of Zaibach.

Yukari looked back and forth between them, obviously a bit overwhelmed seeing the two next to each other after four years. She snapped out of it when Amano placed his arm around her shoulders, thereby popping any developing fantasy bubbles involving the handsome duo and herself.

Allen took Yukari's hand, bowing over it in a formal gesture that was probably making her blush a bit. Well, who could be sure in this lighting? "It's been a while, Yukari. I see Amano finally had the guts to follow his heart."

That made Amano pull Yukari a bit closer against himself. "Better late than never."

The three laughed, and by now Hitomi felt awkward off on the side, pretending to be busy scanning the crowd during the reunion. She glanced towards the VIP area where Allen had just come from. There was a small, packed dance floor with a bar on the right, but on the left, even further back, bead curtains hung all the way from the ceiling to the floor. They looked like somebody had strung up diamonds, but they certainly weren't real, or were they? Hitomi wondered what could be behind them. Probably a seating area to give the high society some privacy when chatting with each other or otherwise…occupied.

Yukari's voice reached Hitomi from the side. "Allen, do you remember…"

"Hitomi," Allen's voice rang clearly over the sound of the music.

She turned her head around and up to lock her eyes with Allen's. They were ocean blue and regarded her with curiosity. Just like with Yukari, he took one of Hitomi's hands but instead of just bowing, he kissed the back of it like he would no doubt for some highborn lady. Despite the absurdity, Hitomi couldn't deny herself some enjoyment out of the formality.

"How could I forget Hitomi? You were one of Amano's best friends, after all. It was my bad for not making enough time to hang out with all of you back when we were younger." Allen held on to Hitomi's hand for just a bit longer than necessary. "I'll be sure to make up for some of that tonight," he finished with a slight wink to emphasize his promise.

"It's good to see you again, Allen," Hitomi responded. It really was, although the sudden interest from his side was unexpected.

More conversation ensued after the four of them ordered drinks at the nearest bar. Yukari immediately wanted to know more about Princess Millerna's schedule while she was in Fanelia. Allen simply smiled knowingly back at her.

"Actually, she is here tonight, although you can't see her. She's somewhere in the crowd on the dance floor up there. My crew is strategically placed around the area to ensure her safety." He said all this with aplomb, thereby earning him looks of awe from the girls and a proud nod from his brother.

"Didn't think she'd be here! I thought this was something like your night off," Amano said.

"A bodyguard is never really off duty, but she's cool with it. Underneath it all, she's really just a person like you and me. Don't forget she has siblings too. She insisted that I take the time to see you after I mentioned that my little brother lives in Fanelia." Allen twirled the stem of a new Martini glass between his fingers as he talked.

Amano combed several fingers through his hair. "Here we go again."

Yukari gripped his upper arm in a gesture that left no room for arguments. "You know what? It's way too amazing here to stand around and talk. Plus, I love this song, so why don't we give that dance floor a try?" She didn't wait for an answer and instead pulled Hitomi in front of herself, then pushed her towards Allen. "We even got the right amount of dance partners."

Winking, she had Amano's hand in hers and was on the way to join the crowd. Hitomi smiled a bit nervously after them while smoothing her short hair behind her ears. She did like to dance, but that was normally done at low-key parties with Yukari and not with a guy like Allen at the hippest nightclub in town.

"Shall we?" Allen asked her, extending his hand expectantly.

Well, she couldn't think of a tangible reason to say no. Not that she wanted to think of one either.

* * *

While Merle, Millerna, and Celena danced their collective hearts out, Van was content to sulk moodily in their reserved seating area, nursing a glass of whiskey. The bass was pumping in his ears and even made the silly bead curtain separating their table and couches from the dancefloor and bar shake. At least he'd be left in peace here unless somebody chose to come looking, of course.

He ran a hand through his hair, which was neatly combed, and briefly wondered what it'd be like to come here incognito. Would he enjoy it more if nobody knew who he was? If he were able to hang out with a group of normal people? Like his…ahem…acquaintance from the coffee shop?

Damn.

He'd done a good job up until this point to not think about her again. However, the tricky part when trying to not think about something was that he had to think about it to remind himself what not to think about. Considering that, he'd actually done a lousy job, because it required him to think about her at least once a day.

Ha. Once a day? If only…

It also didn't help that at that moment he spotted a way too familiar face near the bottom of the steps. He could see her between the cracks in the curtain.

Damn. Damn. Damn.

If he hadn't been sure before, he definitely was now, because she was staring right at where he was sitting. She just obviously couldn't see him behind the sparkly diamond fringe. Seeing her here was like spotting an island in a vast, wild ocean. She seemed a bit out of place, but it wasn't due to her looks. She was by far more tastefully dressed than most of the women he'd fended off earlier this evening. She seemed out of place, because this obviously wasn't her natural environment.

He saw Allen greet a guy who looked a whole lot like him, no doubt the brother Millerna had mentioned he was going to meet. And there was the other woman from the coffee shop. The one who'd been in line in front of him the other day, so excited about the upcoming visit to the Mystic Moon.

After some elaborate show of courtesies from Allen's side, the four went further away, so Van couldn't see them anymore. Now he certainly couldn't stop his thoughts from spinning. And spinning they were, around the image of a certain short-haired, green-eyed woman. Why couldn't he just stop thinking about her? Pondering this for a while, he then waved over a waitress who was only too eager to assist her king.

* * *

They were all out of breath when they ordered a new round of drinks at the bar. Despite everything, Hitomi had to admit that she was having a great time. Allen was a good enough dancer to make up for her level of ineptitude with his confident moves. A few gulps of water and more potent drinks later, they were nothing short of stunned when the VIP hostess appeared beside them and told them that they had been invited to enter that area.

"Wait, but who…," Yukari began to ask but the hostess interrupted her.

"Look, do you want to come back there or not? I don't have time for this," the woman said over her shoulder, already on the way back to her post.

Amano chuckled, "Now that's a pure-bred Rottweiler. She hardly even needs the bouncer's help."

Shrugging, the quartet made their way towards the VIP area, albeit a bit weary still. The hostess stood and looked them up and down, much like her colleague outside while unhooking the thick, red piece of rope to allow them passage. She was clearly not in favor of having any of them except Allen in this area, but couldn't do anything about it despite her position as a gatekeeper. Some higher power had overwritten her authority.

To Hitomi, the grass wasn't much greener on the other side. Except that people here were perhaps dressed even fancier, looked more self-important, and the drinks they held looked more expensive. Half-full bottles of champagne and liquor had been carelessly left on tables littered with overturned glasses and crumpled bills, including traces of white powder which looked a lot like cocaine. It instantly gave the term "high-society" a whole new meaning.

They stood there for a few minutes, looking around to take it all in again, minus Allen who was already used to it. Nobody paid attention to them and even Yukari was still a bit taken aback. She probably couldn't believe her luck about having the chance to come all the way to the heart of the club on her first visit.

They were still standing at the edge of the dancefloor when Hitomi looked behind herself and saw somebody she didn't expect to see again in real life. All the tumult receded, and everything around her grew hazy like standing in a dark tunnel with him at the end. Aw crap.

Dressed in a black suit with the royal crest embroidered on the breast pocket, sans sunglasses and with his hair combed back, the King of Fanelia could hardly be mistaken for anybody else. A few people, who'd been busy dancing in that area, took a moment to stare and exchange some hushed words easily lost in the sound around them. Yukari, Amano, and Allen were still looking the other way, pointing at the bar, when he came to a stop in front of Hitomi.

Neither of them said anything until Van offered a "hello."

"Hi…," Hitomi answered in an equally awkward way.

Cue for the others to finally notice the person who'd joined them. That seeing the king of this very country suddenly stand a mere few feet away shocked them would have been an understatement. Well, everyone except Allen again, of course, who was merely surprised to see Van approach them.

"King Van," Allen acknowledged him. "Was there anything you needed from me?"

Van looked at Hitomi for another moment before shaking his head. He then proceeded to kick himself mentally. He'd thought about what exactly to say, but now it was all gone. Smooth. Real smooth. Distraction! Now! "Is this your brother?" he asked, although it was quite obvious that the guy next to Allen couldn't be anybody but an identical twin.

Allen was taken aback that the king had decided to not only venture out into the open, but now also show interest in his family life. "Indeed, your majesty. This is Amano, his girlfriend, Yukari, and their friend, Hitomi." Allen introduced them all. "We all grew up together in Asturia."

Van didn't crack so much as smile, one hand clutching his glass of whiskey like a lifeline. Meanwhile, Yukari's eyes were still as big as saucers, words having failed her. Was this a dream? The awkwardness of the situation was completely lost on her. Hitomi, on the other hand, was close to bursting out in hysterical laughter. How was it that she kept stumbling into him?

Van nodded at the group as a collective greeting. "I saw you with them and thought it would be better to keep everybody together."

Amano was the first of the others to say something, shaking his girlfriend out of her stupor. "Thank you for the invitation, your majesty. Would you excuse us for a moment though? I think my girlfriend is thirsty." That said, he took her hand and coaxed her out of the semi-circle.

Hitomi could hear her protest a bit.

"Amano, why are you pulling me away? It's the king, for Pete's sake…," Yukari huffed when they were out of earshot.

"Because you've been staring at him since the very first second," Amano laughed. "Calm down, and we'll go back over there eventually, okay?" A mere warm, loving gaze from him usually did wonders in cooling her down.

Yukari rolled her eyes and nodded. "Fine. You're right. Thanks for making sure I don't say anything weird."

"Not a bad idea that with the drink," Allen said. "Hitomi, can I get you anything too?"

"Uh…sure," she answered.

"Your majesty? Anything?" Allen asked Van too.

"No. I'm alright," he answered and lifted his whiskey glass.

After Allen made his way towards the bar, it was just Van and Hitomi continuing their stare-off for another moment.

Hitomi finally laughed, but it was more because she was at a loss for what to say and do than actual amusement. It wasn't like this could get any more awkward. Enough shilly shallies.

The few drinks she'd had and the extravagant, overpowering atmosphere made her bold. "What now? Are we going to pass the time dancing? We know each other well enough, after all." The absurdity of it all.

"No…I hadn't planned on it," he responded ruefully while taking in the sight of her in the party outfit. Although she looked glammy with the velvet shorts and high heels, the blouse gave her an aristocratic look and only underlined her natural beauty.

Even if he wanted to dance with her in a place like this, he couldn't. Not in a club where more than half the people were drunk, on drugs, or both. The possibility of somebody snapping a picture of him doing anything that would shame the royal house was too big. If was different when his little sister was spotted on the dance floor. She was known as a party girl, a bit younger, and the darling of the media, but he needed to be taken seriously at all times.

"Then…what am I supposed to be doing while we wait? Pretend to converse with you?" Hitomi asked him. "Like we just met for the first time?"

She was becoming impatient. Not many people would usually get away with talking to Van in such a way- it was quite sobering.

This was going absolutely not excellent. Van scowled at her. She was testier than he remembered, and his cheek tingled in remembrance.

Before he could bring up what he had wanted to tell her, somebody else interrupted them.

"Van! Look at you coming out of your hiding place!" A melodic voice proclaimed from the side.

"Millerna," Van sighed.

"Who is this? Hi, I'm Millerna," she introduced herself, not even waiting for Van to do it.

The blonde was almost as tall as Van in her heels and shook Hitomi's hand eagerly. "Are you a friend of Allen's? I saw him here just a moment ago."

Allen was still not back, and a quick look around confirmed what he had told them earlier. That Millerna's security detail was positioned at various places in the club. A guy in a navy blue suit was close by but still far enough away to give them privacy.

"Y-yes, your majesty," Hitomi said, the title feeling strange in her mouth.

"You don't have to call me that. At least not when it's just us. Call me Millerna," she offered.

"Uhm…alright…Millerna," Hitomi said.

By the gods. She was standing in the middle of the Mystic Moon's VIP area, talking to not just one but two royals, which doubled the number of royals she had ever talked to in her life.

"How do you know Allen? We haven't been to Fanelia in years, and even then it was before he became head of my security detail," Millerna asked curiously.

Hitomi felt a bit more at ease. The princess was just as laid back as Allen had described her. "I'm actually from Asturia too. So is my friend, Yukari. She is Amano's girlfriend. The three of us share an apartment here in town."

"What a crazy coincidence!" Millerna exclaimed. "Why'd you leave Asturia? Too boring, because no dragons?" she joked.

Van stood next to them as the two women fell into an easy conversation. He was a bit miffed that Millerna had shown up. Somehow, he'd wanted to attempt another apology before they were interrupted. Alas, now that Millerna was engaging her in a conversation, it gave him an excuse to just look at Hitomi. So far, he had only gotten himself in trouble or been a nuisance when alone with her. Not a great track record. Maybe it was better if there were other people and no disguises. Truly, talking to an entire room full of politicians was so different from talking to a woman. One that seemed to be cross with him, especially.

When Hitomi and Millerna arrived at another topic which they could bond over, both their eyes lit up. While Hitomi was nearing the end of her nursing education, Millerna was on her way to become a physician. She'd taken up medical studies despite her father's vehement protests and continued them even after Eries had threatened to abdicate after Folken's death, thereby making Millerna the only eligible heir in the event that she'd make her threat a reality.

Allen eventually came and delivered a drink to Hitomi, but Millerna insisted that he rejoin his brother and Yukari at the bar, which he did, albeit reluctantly. Hitomi had a feeling that Amano was keeping Yukari away on purpose to make sure the alcohol wouldn't prompt her to say things in front of the king and princess she'd later on regret. Millerna assured Allen that Hitomi and she were now best friends and that they had important things to talk about. The only reason Van was allowed to stick around was, well, who would tell a king to butt off? It, of course, also helped that he didn't say a word while the women were talking.

* * *

On the other end of the long bar, a guy with silver hair was playing absentmindedly with the ice in his empty glass. His eyes scanned the crowd without aim, watching people dance, laugh, and yell at each other over the loud music. Those fools.

Dilandau Albatou came solely for the people-watching and drink. Definitely not for the dancing and horrible music. Clad in a merlot shirt and black jeans, he was one of the more casually dressed people here. However, as a member of the Zaibach attaché corps, he never had trouble getting into the Mystic Moon no matter how he was dressed.

Reaching into a pocket, he retrieved a small plastic bag containing a single white pill. Drugs weren't uncommon, here and the effects some of the stuff had on others was too entertaining to not sit back and watch. Sometimes people did downright cringe-worthy stuff when high.

After ordering another round, he slipped the pill into one of two drinks in front of him before taking a sip from his own gin and tonic. He waited until one of the waitresses he knew well came by to load her tray with new orders.

Dilandau stopped the woman with the wavy, teal hair as she picked up drinks from the bartender. "Sylphy. I'm feeling generous tonight. Would you bring this to someone for me?"

"Sure. Who do you want me to bring it to?" Sylphy asked with a facial expression that suggested mild indifference.

Dilandau was regarded as a weirdo in certain circles. As an albino, his outward appearance was unusual. Pale skin, eyes the color of rosé, and nearly white hair weren't exactly what women would list as top desirable features. Although money had, more often than not, helped make them forget about that. It wasn't like he ever felt like wasting time with pleasantries in a woman's company anyway.

In his position, he enjoyed all the honors of a noble but was content to remain mostly antisocial. When he came to the Mystic Moon, he rarely left his favorite seat at the bar. The reason he was still a favorite among the staff was that at least he tipped well.

"Dealer's choice," Dilandau answered with a lazy grin. "Bring it to whoever looks like they could use it."

Shrugging, the waitress tossed her long hair over one shoulder before placing the glass on the tray, grabbing it and walking off into the crowd, weaving through it carefully.

Taking a big swig of his drink, he nearly choked on it when, very unexpectedly, a single finger poked his shoulder. Who the hell was dumb enough to approach him?

"Hey," a female voice demanded his attention.

"What?" Dilandau asked, obviously annoyed and not even turning around, because he was trying to not lose track of Sylphy in the crowd. She was moving fast, doing her job well so he didn't want to miss who she'd deliver the drink to. Then, when he saw her finally zoom in on someone and hand the glass over, he was finally ready to deal with whoever had intruded on his personal space.

"Did you just spike someone's drink?" the female voice prodded.

Even though many people in the crowd were on some sort of drug, they took them with intent. Dilandau whirled around and immediately backed away a bit, because the young woman's face was closer to his than expected. Two pale blue orbs stared at him so accusingly that it made him feel naked on the spot. It was as if she was trying to read his thoughts.

When focusing on her more closely, he realized that she was around his age. He should be able to deal with that easily, or not? "No," he still answered calmly. "I spiked **a** drink. Not someone's. There's a difference." Dilandau regarded the young woman lazily, challenging her.

Her hair was cut the same way as his, although with natural waves. She wore a pair of thin, black palazzo pants and a lavender silk crop top. Where a lot of women liked to take the opportunity here to dress up to the nines, she looked like she was on her way to Sunday brunch. It gave her an air of sophistication, and that made him a little curious.

Contrastingly, the girl was holding a fresh bottle of beer by the neck, apparently having stood not far away to order a fresh round for herself. Beer wasn't really the choice beverage of high-society girls. She was pretty and interesting so far, he had to give her that.

What he said made her frown. "Well," she said innocently. "Why would you spike a random drink?"

Dilandau chuckled. "Just sharing some Intensified Luck in hopes it will make someone's evening."

Brow slightly furrowed, the girl slowly said, "Right. Because, let me guess, you're a generous guy?"

Celena looked at him with an expression that was completely unfamiliar to him. Not outright disapproval about doing something fucked up like drugging a random person, but instead bypassing the outrage and going straight about finding his motivation for it. That, in combination with her confidence about approaching a guy who was a stranger to her in a bar, made his skin prickle uncomfortably.

"Shit. You won't believe how many snappy one-liners I just forgot, and because of that, I need to go," Dilandau said. He got to his feet and downed his drink in one large gulp while simultaneously grabbing a black sports coat from the back of his barstool.

In any other situation, he'd never be the one to back down. Who was he to be scared of some naïve girl getting under his skin by merely looking at him? Even as he pushed past her, moving her out of the way with his elbow carefully but deliberately, she didn't make any attempts to follow him. At least, she knew what was good for her. The dancing crowd swallowed him in the blink of an eye.

Fuming, Dilandau ducked into the men's room. His evening entertainment was ruined for the time being. The audacity of this blonde bitch. He was so mad he kicked the silver trash can sitting in the corner, which earned him an annoyed glance from the guy at the urinal.

"What the fuck are you staring at?" Dilandau challenged him.

The guy shook his head, finished his business, and left the bathroom without washing his hands. Pig.

Dilandau walked up to the sink and braced his hands onto the marble washbasin. His own reflection stared back at him. Of course, he'd taken some of the Intensified Luck himself too, but he already knew what it'd make him feel like. Like he was actually in control for once. Weird, because normally people took drugs for the exact opposite reason, to be able to let go.

His knuckles turned white as he gripped the marble surface harder and focused on his mirror image. The more he looked at himself, the more the resurfacing images of his surreal nightmares threatened to swallow him again. Hissing at his own image, he tore himself away and strode into the far-off stall, banging the door closed before locking it.

The smoke detector in the closed-off room was still damaged from the last time he'd broken it. He leaned his back against the side wall and reached for the pack of cigarettes in one of his pockets. After lighting one up, he inhaled greedily and then rolled up the sleeves of his jacket to be more comfortable. At least here he'd be safe from the curious, little inquisitor for a while.

* * *

Hitomi had lost track of time. At some point, a waitress stopped by and handed her a fresh drink.

"But I didn't order anything," Hitomi protested while the waitress thrust the gin and tonic into her hand.

"It's from this guy at the bar," she explained and gesticulated vaguely towards it.

Over the woman's shoulder, Hitomi could make out Allen, Yukari, and Amano. Allen smiled at her from across the distance, and she raised the glass in a toast before tasting it. It had obviously been sent by him- how nice. She was actually having a good time now even though the dark king was still next to Millerna and her, hanging out there like a soggy raincloud. After two more sips, she was glad about the refreshment even though she'd already had a few drinks up to this point.

Van was looking about as interested as a guy could be expected to be when two women were conversing animatedly and not including him. But that was just fine with him. It gave him all the time in the world to glance at Hitomi whenever appropriate, drinking in the sight of her cheerful face more eagerly than the whiskey. Her genuine nature made him feel more at ease in the usually dreaded environment.

More time passed as the women talked about similar classes they'd had and shared stories of training rotations with obnoxious patients and shocking diagnoses. It was Millerna's turn to tell a story about a guy she'd treated in the ER, who had thought it a splendid idea to mend a wound on his leg with superglue, which then necessitated them to soak the affected area in acetone.

Hitomi wobbled a bit and smothered a laugh with her free hand when Millerna talked. It wasn't actually that funny, but an unfamiliar feeling in her head stole away her ability to keep it together. "'Scuse me for a moment please," Hitomi said and stepped away as gracefully as possible. What in the hell was wrong with her. She hadn't had **that** much to drink, or had she?

She stumbled into the VIP restroom where the sound of music was more muffled and the light was brighter, aiming for the sinks. Two other women were in there, fixing their flawless warpaint and giggling amongst themselves. "…sooo hot in that black suit and I can't believe he's here tonight."

Hitomi stifled a groan as she put down her drink and turned on the faucet to splash cold water onto her face, not caring if it would smudge her own, much less elaborate, makeup. The cool water helped her focus better. As far as she could tell from her reflection staring back at her, she looked fairly normal. Phew. At least she wouldn't embarrass herself completely if she went back out there to let her friends know that she would be leaving.

The two high-society girls brushed past her with envious looks on their faces, one whispering something into the other's ear without Hitomi even taking note. Right. Good. So that was the way out. Kind of hard to tell with all the light and glitz in there. All she had to do was follow them. Back out into the cosmic darkness of the Mystic Moon, the difference in lighting and intensity in sound after the brief stop in the restroom hit her like a brick wall against the head. She was feeling worse and worse by the minute, and the refreshing effect of the cold water had worn off fast.

She wobbled again, looking around, but everything appeared strange. It was as if she had fallen through a rabbit hole and been spit out in another dimension. Faces were blurry and bodies moved too fast for her to follow. Walking felt like having to wade through molasses. She stumbled to the other side and reached the area across from the bathroom doors where a polished shelf along the whole length of the wall was meant to hold drinks for those whose hands were otherwise occupied. Only a few steps away, a couple made use of just that and had abandoned their champagne glasses while thoroughly exploring each other with hands and mouths.

Hitomi reached out to place her half-empty glass onto the shelf, but in her delirium misjudged the distance. Only halfway on the secure surface before she let go, the glass fell and shattered, sending shards of expensive crystal, ice, and booze flying. Some splashed on her toes, some on the couple's legs, and ice went sliding across the floor. They only spared a moment to shoot her an annoyed glance before stepping away further and resuming their previous activities.

In the meantime, Hitomi could do nothing but stare at the floor, dumbfounded and utterly at a loss for what had just happened. As if hypnotized, she stood in the same spot for what felt like an eternity before she, despite the blaring music, heard glass crunch under the soles of, no doubt, expensive shoes and felt a firm hand on her shoulder.

 **Tbc...soonish.**

 **A/N:** Really, I had nearly 19 pages written already but decided to cut it off sooner for my own sanity. That said, ch 4 (or rather chapter 3, part 2) shouldn't be as long as this update. Alas, real life often gets in the way.

Thank you to everybody who's taken the time to review. It's motivating, as you can imagine. Keep it up!

In the meantime, check out 'Divided Soul' by Maybe89. I've been beta-ing for her and the story is turning out to be a delightful mix of anime and movie.

Until next time!


	4. Act 1, Chapter 3 (pt2)

**[Edit 02/17/2019: Beta-read by the lovely OfSIlverRaindrops. Thank you, friend!]**

 _King of Anything_

Act 1, Chapter 3, Part 2

 _In which Millerna narrows her eyes and Yukari's shoulders slump._

Van and Millerna watched Hitomi stumble away and exchanged uneasy glances. "Something seems off," the princess commented, whereupon Van frowned. Hitomi didn't seem like the kind of girl who'd purposely get hammered.

Alas, it didn't take long for her to emerge back out of the nook where the doors to the restrooms were. Only, she looked ten times worse now. Millerna's eyes narrowed when she witnessed Hitomi try to place her drink on a ledge, then drop it in mid-air, likely due to skewed depth perception. Her periwinkle eyes then widened while she reached for Van's arm. "We need to check on her."

Nodding, Van was already off in Hitomi's direction, dodging imbibed guests in his way. Seeing her stand there staring at the mess on the ground, visibly confused and frozen, made his movements urgent. Though she'd been rather bold with him before and confident with Millerna just earlier, she now looked very lost.

As Van placed his hand on her shoulder, he immediately noticed that her skin was cold through the thin material of her blouse. Despite the high collar, the thing was doing nothing to keep her warm even in the steamy environment of the Mystic Moon, where people were grinding and twerking on the dance floor not far away.

"Hitomi, are you alright?" Van asked when she slowly turned and inclined her head to face him. Her eyes had trouble focusing, causing her to shake her head slowly in an attempt to get rid of whatever was clouding her mind.

"Mmmh. Fine," was all she responded while placing one of her hands against the front of his suit jacket to steady herself.

Millerna wasn't far behind them. "Let's get her away from all the people."

Van nodded. "Right," but didn't take his eyes off of Hitomi. Her mascara was smudged and had settled into the creases around her eyes, giving her a haunted look.

"Hitomi, be a dear and come with us," Millerna instructed politely.

"Ooookay," she replied, smiling dreamily.

Van sucked in a deep breath. She sounded weird. Too readily complying.

Hitomi didn't resist at all when he guided her to the area where the private tables and couches were, secluded by a row of tight, sparkly crystal bead curtains. His hand was on her lower back as he nudged her in that direction with Millerna right by their side, making sure nobody was watching too closely. Good thing most of the people here were drunk at this hour.

Having anyone witness that the king and the princess of Asturia were ducking into a private area with a strange woman would surely prompt some juicy rumors. The area where they had all started out the evening earlier was still deserted. Save for some empty bottles of champagne and glasses, a few of which had been knocked over by the girls in their haste of getting to the dance floor, there wasn't much around.

A bit clumsily, Hitomi tripped over her own feet and nearly crashed into the glowing glass table, but a strong arm around the waist steadied her before something could happen. "Sheesh," Van huffed when her arms still flailed, holding her carefully until she appeared steady enough again.

Millerna wasted no more time and stepped up to cup Hitomi's cheeks in her hands. "Look at me, Hitomi."

Hitomi complied obediently. Millerna observed her for a moment, then asked her to follow a finger as she moved it left and right in front of her face. Hitomi's reaction was way off.

"Just what I thought. She's not drunk."

"She isn't?" Van asked while unbuttoning his suit jacket and removing it to drape it around Hitomi's shoulders.

"Mmmh," Hitomi closed her eyes and smiled, snuggling into the garment. She pivoted towards Van, then proceeded to slip her arms around his waist, lean into him, and bury her face in his chest. "You smell good," she announced quietly but happily, then mumbled, "like pet...pet-richor and charred wood."

Van gulped when he felt her nose nuzzle his pectorals through the black dress shirt. "She-she isn't?" His hands were hovering in the air near her waist uncertainly.

Millerna studiously tapped her chin with one finger, the other hand braced on her hip. "She isn't," she confirmed. "She's high on some drug, and…I mean, I've only just met her today, but judging by what little I know her, would say she didn't take anything on purpose."

That set a part of Van's brain on fire. "What?!"

"Somebody must have slipped her something," Millerna theorized.

His hands suddenly settled onto Hitomi's sides, almost protectively. He bunched the fabric of his jacket in tight fists there, instinctively pulling her closer. "What do we do?" Van asked while regarding the woman leaning against him so contently, his anger dominating any uneasiness. Safe. She was safe here with him.

"Well," Millerna continued, but certainly didn't miss her friend's atypical behavior. "It will wear off, but it's best if she is brought home so nothing happens to her."

"Right," Van readily agreed again. He was unbelievably thankful to have a friend like Millerna. Out of all the royal pains, she was by far his favorite and always able to keep a cool head in situations where he'd be out for blood by now. He could really use some of that talent.

"I'll go find Allen. Pretty sure her friends are still with him near the bar. Do **not** let her out of your sight for even a second. Who knows what kind of weirdo is out there waiting for her to be alone again. Pliable as she is right now, you could probably make her do anything you want," Millerna advised before straightening her dress and leaving.

Pliable? Make her do? Van glanced back down to Hitomi, who then lifted her head away from his chest and stared at him dopily, mouth slightly agape as if waiting for something. He hissed through his teeth when he realized what Millerna had implied. Not on his watch!

Van carefully removed Hitomi's arms from around his waist and maneuvered her to the couch. When she plunked down, the velvet shorts she wore hiked up another good two inches and bared the whole length of her lithe legs. Van definitely was glad Millerna and he had found her before anybody else, because at that moment he had a few pretty good ideas for what kind of X-rated things someone might want her to do.

He felt extremely bad for even thinking about it while she was in such a delirium. What if they hadn't been there? Hitomi's upper body swayed as she sat, completely zoned out. A few moments later, she almost fell off the couch too, slowly beginning to fold forward at the waist.

Van hadn't taken his eyes off of her, so he quickly dropped to one knee and grabbed both her shoulders, steadying her. Hitomi giggled. He didn't feel like anything was funny. Even though Millerna said the drug would likely just wear off, he was wholly uncomfortable with her having to go through this.

Concern etched on his face, Van looked her over again. Some part of him wanted Hitomi locked in a room. Now. Until she was stone cold sober and very much in control of her wits again. So sober she'd be able to slap him or anybody else hard for attempting to do anything she didn't approve of. It made him feel doubly bad again for the stolen kiss, although at least for that she'd had her retribution.

A small crease appeared between Hitomi's brows, and one of her hands slowly crossed the space between them. Van was too dumbfounded and intrigued to stop her when she wove her fingers into his hair and combed it forward. It fell in a messy angle across his forehead. "Better," she announced with a weak smile. "I like this better."

So some part of her did know who he was. Maybe that also meant she was aware that she was safe. Or maybe not, because…well…

"Yeah," Van sighed quietly. "Me too." He wanted to entertain the illusion that he could have a normal conversation with her right now, because it meant she was somewhat okay and in control of herself.

"Why are your eyes red?"

…that question, out of nowhere, surprised him. She'd spoken quietly and was still playing with a few wisps of his hair.

The color of his eyes was a bit of a sore spot for two reasons, so he never talked about it. Flaming red irises were the prominent feature both his mother and brother had shared. Well, thinking of his family was never _not_ going to be painful. It wasn't difficult to explain either, but nothing exciting at all, so none of the tabloids ever wrote about it.

She likely wouldn't even remember if he told her now. "Lack of pigment in my eyes passed down by my mother. She and my brother had it too. I'm really just a freak," he stated, then shrugged lightly.

At the word "freak," Hitomi frowned again but quickly recovered, even smiling a bit after. Her fingers traveled down the side of his head where they threaded into his hair again, disheveling it more while he could only stare back.

Despite the smudged makeup, she still looked lovely. The dreamy expression on her face, although drug-induced, showed him her gentle side again. He'd seen it during their other encounters, along with the strong-willed side that wouldn't tolerate any nonsense- not even from a king.

He wasn't doing anything to her though, was he? He wasn't making her do this, or…? It was difficult to focus with her so close. Her cheeks were tinted a bit red by now, hopefully because she was finally warming up under his jacket.

After drawing a shaky breath, Van swallowed heavily while tightening his hold on her shoulders, subconsciously hoping that it would make her aware of what she was doing. He really, really should stop her from touching him, but the way her fingers caressed the side of his head and nape was distractingly lovely. Even more so when her second hand moved to his neck, dipping a bit into the space where the shirt's collar gaped open. It made a shiver trail down his spine.

Hitomi's face drew nearer, and Van backed away a bit in an attempt to keep them out of trouble. She was still close enough for him to feel her breath fan across his face. She whispered, inching closer with every word, "They are so...so...so beautiful."

Van's heart skipped a few beats when he saw her eyes falling shut. She drifted further toward him yet, her mouth brushing his, soft as a feather.

His own eyes crossed in shock despite the ample warning signs. He really should have seen it coming, but had been too mesmerized to comprehend what she was up to. Or maybe he was full of shit and had been secretly hoping for it. Either way, he'd not fully realized just how much he was craving the feel of her.

Who could blame him? Behind the title and responsibilities, he was still a guy with wants and needs. No matter how aloof he appeared on the outside in the role of monarch-protector of his realm-he couldn't just shut off the craving. The craving felt by a very simple fraction of his brain. The one that wanted to immediately reciprocate what she was offering, hollering at him to pull her close, savor the moment, and see how far they could go.

Only, responsibilities would always take precedence over such a longing now that he was king, especially in a situation like this. Hitomi's warm, soft lips slowly moved against his, tasting of bitter gin, tonic, and lime. She was searching, desperate for something he realized he couldn't-no, **shouldn't-** give her.

Van groaned when Hitomi's grip on him tightened fractionally. Under different circumstances, having her grab him like this, demanding him to respond to her kiss while pressing her moist lips against his, would certainly have been persuasive. After all, she was really pretty and intriguing in several ways. However, knowing that she was doing all this under the influence of some drug made it feel all kinds of wrong.

Hating himself for having let it even come this far, the king tapped into hidden reservoirs of sheer will and pried her hands off of his head. His gut twisted sickly when a small noise of surprise and protest escaped Hitomi's mouth after they parted. Carefully but deliberately, he pushed her back into the cushions and drew in a deep breath of sobering air, but that hitched in his throat halfway when he heard all his names.

"Van Slanzar de Fanel, what on Gaea do you think you're doing?" Millerna hissed behind him while roughly pulling him to his feet and, for a lack of a more acceptable retribution, pinched his upper arm where she knew the large welt of a scar was.

"Ow! What the..! Millerna, I didn't do anything!" Van exclaimed in exasperation while running both hands through his disheveled hair, combing it back again.

"Yeah, exactly!" Millerna poked his chest with an accusing finger and gesticulated towards Hitomi with her free hand. The woman in question was resting against the back of the couch, looking like she was going to fall asleep any moment. She didn't need to say anything else. Van's eyes darted back over to Hitomi, staring at her ruefully.

"I…," Van began to speak, but a frustrated growl escaped his throat instead. His hands balled themselves into fists at his sides and pure anger washed over him. Anger for his own stupidity and for whoever was responsible for this mess in the first place. If he got his hands on whoever slipped her the drug, they'd pay.

"Hitomi!" A frantic voice heralded the approach of her redheaded friend.

Van was glad to see her rush to Hitomi's side with only a quick side glance at him and Millerna in passing. It was good to know she had a friend nearby now. Two actually, when Allen's brother rounded the curtain with a few swift strides, followed by Allen, who kept a respectful distance but looked thoroughly concerned nonetheless. More concerned than he ought to have been, really.

"Hitomi, what happened to you?!" Yukari and Amano fretted while inspecting their friend only to find that she was physically unharmed. Yukari's shoulders slumped in relief when she realized that her friend was alright.

Meanwhile, Millerna and Van were arguing quietly for a minute before he stormed off, his face a mask of fury.

"Don't do anything rash, Van! You don't even know who did it!" Millerna tried to calm him down, the words barely audible over the music.

Yeah, she was right, but he was downright pissed when he stomped out from behind the secluded sitting area, fuming and wishing he had his sword on him. He stomped aimlessly into the crowd, scanning it for anybody who looked even remotely guilty.

He was just about to explode when a small voice piped up beside him. "Excuse me, your highness," Celena's melodic but confident voice reached him through the boom of the bass.

"Van," Merle joined them. They seemed to have been dancing up until now; Van could tell by his sister's labored breaths and loosened buns, strands of pink hair framing her face.

"Van," Merle repeated his name firmly to make sure he was listening. "Celena thinks she saw something. We just heard from Allen what happened in passing."

That, of course, got his attention. "Tell me!" Van demanded.

"Well. There was this guy," Celena began. "He was sitting at the bar the whole time, but now he's gone. He dropped some pill into a drink and then a waitress came and took it. I don't know where she went with it, though. Could be that she gave it to that lady."

"What did he look like?" Van asked, already mentally skinning a faceless guy alive with the razor-sharp, royal sword.

"Silver or white hair. Similar length as mine. Very pale and sort of rude," Celena described him, and Van didn't need to hear anything else.

"Dilandau," Merle blurted out his thoughts, confirming it. "His looks are uncanny." She immediately grabbed him by the sleeve of his shirt, knowing him too well. "Van, don't do anything dumb."

Both Millerna and Merle were very aware that an enraged Van was nothing to be underestimated. Though his sense of honor was his strongest virtue, it also became his biggest weakness when stretched too far, turning into stubbornness which translated to rash and thoughtless actions.

It was too late, anyway. Dilandau was gone. His white hair would have been easily visible in the glow of the black light, even in a big crowd. Luckily, that wasn't a problem. The dishonorable bastard would pay, and he already had a good idea as to how.

"Don't worry. I won't," Van promised. At least not tonight, but nobody needed to know that.

The three then returned to the back area where everybody was still gathered around Hitomi. To Van's discontent, Allen was now hoisting a dead-to-the-world Hitomi into his arms. The king was a bit confused about the severity of his displeasure when seeing this. He stayed at the back of the group, jaw locked and arms crossed.

Millerna announced that Allen was instructed to make sure the three friends got home safely. "Allen, don't let go of her until you're inside their apartment. That's a firm order."

"Not to worry," Allen assured nobody in particular, donning an expression of chivalry. "My arms have, and always will be, the safest place on Gaea for any fair lady."

"Odd flex, but okay," Merle stated a bit dryly.

Allen, with Hitomi in his arms and flanked by Yukari and Amano, made his way out of the club. As directed by Merle, they used the back door, which the royal entourage had entered through earlier, so as not to draw attention.

After they were gone, Van snatched up his crumpled suit jacket from where it had been left on the couch. The garment created a puff of air when he roughly straightened it around his shoulders. For a brief moment, it smelled sweet. Sweet like **her** , which calmed him by a small measure before his blood began to boil anew.

Yeah. Dilandau, the cretin, was going to wish he never set foot into the Mystic Moon tonight. He'd regret it by tomorrow afternoon at the latest.

When Van was finished with the last button on his jacket, he was back in charge of his temper again, the façade of an in-control king. "Celena, would you and the rest of security please make sure the princesses get back to the palace? I need some time alone. Escaflowne is outside. He will escort me back."

Celena nodded confidently. "No problem."

Millerna shook her head slowly.

"I'm coming with you," the princess answered, indicating that she was ready to go and would accept no debate about the matter. It seemed like the incident had sobered everybody up.

Van looked at her with a neutral expression and said, "Fine." He knew that arguing with her was pointless.

* * *

Dilandau smirked mischievously while ambling through the narrow alleys of Old Town. One hand was tucked into a pocket while the other held his cellular phone. The screen glowed brightly as a video clip played. Although a bit blurry and filmed from a weird angle near the bathroom hallway, one could make out the king and a woman in an intimate encounter.

Sylphy had really hit the jackpot with her choice. Never in his wildest dreams had Dilandau thought to still be able to enjoy entertainment of this caliber tonight. As far as he was concerned, nobody was safe from this kind of fate, not even the king. Spreading chaos and disorder was were where Dilandau felt most at home- it was his own personal mission, and he didn't much care who was affected by it.

He was glad to have slipped out at the right moment. Although he wasn't afraid of the king, he wasn't up for dealing with the shit this all would stir up in diplomatic terms. Relations between Zaibach and Fanelia had never been great, even though they were connected by some of the longest-standing trade agreements in history. Despite decades of peace, everything between them was frosty, to say the least.

* * *

Escaflowne marched behind Van and Millerna down the cobblestoned pedestrian area of Old Town. He'd wisely remained quiet as various groups had exited the club with his master and the Asturian princess returning last. Although not usually shy, the machine knew when a situation was too serious for his witty remarks.

Van's hands were shoved deep into the pockets of his suit jacket while frowning at the ground. Millerna floated next to him, refusing to be affected by the foul mood he was emanating. Neither of them had spoken a word since they left the club. Van was obviously deep in thought, though he had put up a good show of being unmoved towards the end.

Escaflowne continued to keep his distance, scanning the area for danger as they went. It was a quiet night otherwise, and Millerna let her childhood friend fume in silence some more until they reached the elevators. The guards positioned there snapped to attention when the king neared. One of them pushed a finger to his earbud while speaking into the small mic by his uniform collar, giving his colleagues upstairs a heads up that the royals were approaching.

Escaflowne's frame was too large to fit inside the brightly-lit box, so he had to climb the steps. Nothing new. Van leaned against the brushed metal walls on the inside while the doors slid shut, arms crossed and eyes closed.

"You like her, don't you?" Millerna interrupted the companionable silence, since they were finally alone.

Van opened his eyes but didn't respond, only frowning back at her.

Meanwhile, the elevator was ascending swiftly.

Ornery mule of a man.

Millerna jabbed the emergency stop, and Van's eyes sprang open when the elevator came to a sudden halt.

"What the-" He unwound his arms and braced them on the railing on either side of him. Now it was Millerna's turn to cross her arms and regard him inquisitively. She couldn't help but permit one corner of her mouth to rise. Looks like that accusation got under the reserved king's skin. His unguarded, startled expression was all the confirmation that she needed.

"She's smart and pretty," Millerna assessed while Van stood unmoving, eyes trained at the floor.

"What are you talking about?" Van responded in irritation.

Millerna rolled her eyes dramatically. "Van, you're usually stubborn about the right things, but this isn't one of them."

"Your point being?"

"That you don't have to pretend like you're made out of stone all the time!" Millerna clapped her hands in front of his face to emphasize her point.

Oh, if only she knew. If only she knew that he'd already given up on that twice before when making his excursions incognito. A third time really tonight when he'd been stupid enough to let a woman under the influence of a drug kiss him. He shouldn't be making mistakes like that.

Then a voice came through the intercom by the control panel. "Majesties, is everything alright? The elevator seems to have come to a stop. This must have been a malfunction. We will have it going again in a minute."

Millerna pushed the button near the microphone to answer back, "Yes, thank you. Everything is just fine."

Then she turned her attention back to Van. "I'm only dropping the issue for now, because I want to give you this without anyone seeing it," she said while digging around her small purse. She produced a small thumb drive, and Van accepted it with a curious look on his face.

"It's from a friend. He thinks it could help you access those recordings in Escaflowne's storage you've had issues with."

Van's eyebrows rose when he remembered. He'd been meddling with it for a bit since Escaflowne's activation, but not being an expert with machines, he had limited options. Just to be on the safe side, this would remain his own little project for now. Who knew what he'd end up finding?

* * *

When Hitomi came to, she felt positively nauseous. Either she was on a ship or had traveled back in time to when she was a baby, because whatever she was in rocked her like a boat or a cradle.

Everything inside her stomach curdled like sour milk and burned in her throat, trying to claw its way back up before something tickled her cheek and distracted her enough to swallow the lump. When she reached for her face, her hand came away with a bunch of soft, blonde hair- definitely not her own.

"Hitomi," Allen's smooth voice was very close, and it took her a moment to gather why. It's because she was being carried by him. Even though she seemed to be sort of awake, now cracking her eyes open a bit, it was difficult to move. Even her hand felt funny as she let go of the man's hair and flexed her fingers. Whatever liquor she'd had at the end had hit her like a sledgehammer. She'd been so impaired she forgot how she even ended up in his arms.

She remembered dancing with Allen for a good while before they'd entered the VIP area. Then talking to Millerna with Van- oh, gods- standing next to them. She remembered drinking something, and the alcohol in it being stronger than anticipated. Starting then, everything became very misty. A bit of panic, but mostly confusion, was what she remembered. After being lost for a while, she'd been enveloped by something warm, and it'd finally allowed her to relax and feel safe.

That's when all the worry went away and was replaced with something new, exciting. Her heart hammered against her ribcage when she tried to remember, but the visuals in her memory were so blurry- her impaired mind not able to fathom the sensory overload then. That's when everything must have become too much and made her sink like a piece of lead into deep, dark waters. Had Allen found her and saved her from getting into trouble? It sure looked like it.

"Wha…t-hap…," she tried to ask but Allen silenced her with a tender glance.

"Shh, it's okay," he soothed her. "Somebody spiked your drink with a party drug, but we found you just in time. I'm making sure nothing happens to you," he explained. "There's nothing for you to worry about. You're safe with me, and we're almost home."

He was right. Safe. She couldn't imagine anything bad happening to her when Allen was near. He was Princess Millerna's personal bodyguard, after all. Hitomi then recognized the awning of the small corner store as they passed by it, and Yukari had already run ahead on the walkway to unlock the tall front door of the old building they lived in. She could hear it creak as it swung open. Allen strode down the short gravel path through the small garden in the front.

Feeling safe enough again, Hitomi gave up and let the exhaustion win over once more. She nestled her head against the side of his chest, inhaling his scent. He smelled like cologne, a bit of his own musk, and shampoo. Not entirely unpleasant, but distinctly different from what would have made the foggy images in her mind clear up.

 **Tbc…**

 **A/N:** It's a snow day so I had some free time to devote to this chapter yay!

But damnit, it's finally come this far. I have to use technology I usually try to avoid at all cost: Cellphones. I hate using cellphones. They are so unromantic but really, with robots and computers, there had to be cellphones right?

And I wrote a jacket trope- again. For the sake of romance. Le sigh! Do forgive me.

Don't expect the next installment to be up as quickly again. Life's happening as we speak.

Thank you for taking the time to review my insanity's creation!


	5. Act 1, Chapter 4

**A/N:** Long time no read! It took a minute because real life and the holidays were demanding my time. Hopefully, this chapter is good for a few laughs. As always, thank you very much for sticking with the story and for all the reviews! You are awesome!

In other news, this story has a beta now. After a while of reading my stories, _OfSilverRaindrops_ decided to make an account and offer her services. At my current speed, she will be caught up with the older chapters soon, methinks. I'll be updating the revised versions as they are completed. I'm super stoked to have someone to polish up my grammar, so a huge 'Thank You' in advance!

 **[Edit 03/05/19: This chapter has been beta-red. Thank you so much, friend!]**

Anyway, without further ado, I present to you the next chapter.

 _King of Anything_

Act 1, Chapter 4

 _In which Dilandau shrugs and Yukari says "Wait a minute."_

Dilandau loped through the deserted hallways of the Fanelian palace, down into the catacombs deep in the heart of the mountain it was built upon. Many facilities necessary for the defense and operation of the palace were located down there: Ancient and modern armament, boiler rooms, laundry facilities, storage, the works.

Some of the areas were modern, featuring metal doors and keypads for security. Others, like the familiar hallway he was walking down, looked more like film locations from historical movies. The stone floor was uneven and wrought-iron fixtures held torches as long as a person's arm.

Oh, how Dilandau missed Zaibach sometimes. It'd been a while since Adelphus Gain, the Zaibachian economical attaché he worked for, and him had traveled home. Zaibach was more advanced than Fanelia in every aspect except for its location in the most barren wasteland this side of Gaea. That's why its technology had developed faster; not much to do out there but think up crazy science stuff.

The remote location of the capital and its massive need for energy to power all the tech was the only reason they depended on Fanelia so much- because the kingdom was camping out on the only steady supply of drag energists.

If it wasn't for that, he wouldn't be stuck here. If it wasn't for that, Gain probably wouldn't have taken a much younger Dilandau away from his home country just because he needed an errand boy for his dirty work. The old fart hadn't anticipated back then that Dilandau would grow up to be so useful in the office and too smart to keep picking up the dry cleaning.

But back to the superiority of Zaibach and the shortcomings of Fanelia. In Zaibach, buildings were modern all over and not patched together, trying to desperately preserve some past history. Even Old Town Fanelia, the area immediately around the palace, was laughably underdeveloped. The streets were so narrow that no vehicle could pass through, and people had to walk to get from A to B. Zaibach had overcome the limitations of their historical city center by installing a monorail. Why didn't Fanelia do anything like that?

Everything here was just so old-fashioned and…underwhelming. Even the half-open, heavy wooden door he was pushing on was distressed by age and slightly rotten in some spots, creaking in its rusty hinges.

"What an honor to be summoned by his supreme highness." Dilandau feigned awe as he stepped into the large room. Its stone walls were bare apart for more torch fixtures. Trickles of slick wetness seeped from the cracks closest to the vaulted ceiling as moisture from the earth behind and above it made its way through. It reeked of mold too. Nothing had changed.

The echo of his steps was tossed around the room, eventually fading as he came to a stop across from the dark-haired king.

"Don't call me that," Van growled with obvious impatience.

The king and him weren't strangers to each other. Dilandau had been around for quite a while, seen what a toll the loss of Van's family had taken on him even in later years, and witnessed many a mood swing. They weren't friends, but men of the same age who harbored a natural, mutual disdain for each other.

"Well, what would you prefer, your majesty? Dragon king or homeslice?" Dilandau suggested.

"Van will do just fine," he responded quickly before Dilandau could continue. There wasn't a single encounter he remembered where the fair-haired Zaibachian hadn't grated on his nerves.

"As you wish," Dilandau offered him a sloppy curtsy. He'd never behave like this if there were other people around. Dilandau was many things but dumb was most definitely not on that list. The Fanelian king had sent for him in an urgent but discrete way, and it was likely that nobody even knew where the king presently was or whom he was meeting with. Those thoughts intrigued him.

"If you wanted to hang out, we could have just met in one of the sitting rooms. At least there's liquor. The gods know we need some social lubricant to chat."

"Cut the crap and grab a weapon," Van shot back without much ado, a hand resting on the pommel of the royal sword strapped to his hip, the thumb slowly turning the golden ring affixed to its end.

Dilandau shrugged, palms up. "Sure wish I'd known you called me here to play. I'd have put on something comfier too."

While Van wore sweatpants, a T-shirt, and sneakers, Dilandau was dressed in jeans and a plaid flannel shirt. He chuckled and turned to face a weapons display on the side, appraising the collection at his disposal.

Not having warned Dilandau about the nature of this meeting required a certain degree of ruthlessness. The king wasn't always as noble as people believed. Dilandau savored that thought for a moment and filed it away for future reference.

While Van regarded him with an unsympathetic expression, Dilandau shrugged. "Buuuut, oh well. Can't say no to an old friend, can I? It's been a long time since we last sparred."

"This will do," he announced after a minute.

The decision was easy. After all, he knew how to fend for himself too.

For a few years, Dilandau and Van had both gotten lessons from Balgus. Gain had asked for it after Dilandau was beginning to become restless, and Balgus had complied for the sake of the poor orphaned boy with the strict master.

But as his students' sparring sessions became more intense and close cuts at serious injuries happened far too frequently, that came to an end rather swiftly.

The sword he chose was similar in style to Van's- a blade with a handle long enough to be wielded with two hands. It sang as he pulled it from its sheath, which made his mouth curve up on one side.

Likewise, Van caught himself taking a bit of savage delight in the way his fingers curled around the royal sword's handle. Dilandau began to swing the borrowed sword in lazy circles to warm up his joints and test its balance. When satisfied, he jerked his chin up briefly to indicate that he was ready.

Tick tock, time to rock.

There was no need for words anymore when steel first clanked against steel. Ducking away from one swing, Dilandau parried the next, then took two steps back, followed by one step forward, an attack, and an abrupt stop when Van blocked in return.

While everything was fairly balanced in the beginning, the growing intensity behind Van's strikes soon wiped the smug grin off Dilandau's face. This was more than just a sparring match. Dilandau took a few steps to the side to catch his breath and reset. He hadn't expected Van to dive in as he was.

He'd made a miscalculation; a mistake he certainly wouldn't repeat again. Dilandau watched Van as he stood not far away, glowering, but allowing Dilandau to finish realizing what was happening. At least the king had the decency to be fair and let him adjust his expectations about this outing.

It was quite obvious that Van had some sort of frustration he needed to vent. He was known for being intense, but usually everything he did was calculated and well thought-out. In this case, however, he appeared different- almost emotional. It was like the anger was directed specifically at Dilandau himself.

That thought intrigued him. He parried a strong, two-handed strike and then side-stepped to return the favor with a few less forceful, faster attacks of his own. Even though they were about equal in height, Van was slightly heavier and stronger, but Dilandau was faster and more agile which gave him an advantage at the moment.

His opponent successfully blocked the strikes. Dilandau hadn't expected anything less from Van. Really, it'd have been disappointing if the king hadn't been able to keep up after dishing out those hefty blows earlier. After all, knowing what they each were capable of had always made it possible for them to play around without multiple layers of protective gear. Like they were dancing to the tune of the same song even when pitted against each other.

It was Van's turn to take the offensive again, and Dilandau whistled when his adversary slashed through the fabric of his sleeve with the very tip of his sword, missing pale flesh by the width of a hair.

"Seems like you're holding a grudge for some reason," Dilandau chuckled.

Van's eyes narrowed when steel clashed against steel, both their faces inches apart and separated only by their blades crossed between them. Van refrained from responding. Either the reason didn't matter as much as the satisfaction of retribution ,or he just didn't want Dilandau to know.

There were two things one ignored. Things that weren't important and things that one wished weren't important. Which one was it, though?

"Seriously," Dilandau took a deep breath after Van shoved him away by pushing against his blade. "What has you so riled up? As far as I know, nothing remotely bad's happened since your brother."

"Are you crazy? Nothing **bad**?" Van finally spat, panting. "You drugged a woman in a nightclub full of drunks without her knowledge, and you don't think that's bad? Do you have any idea what could have happened if-"

Dilandau barked a laugh at the absurdity of the reason.

"Oh, **that's** what it is. But really? That's why I'm here? For spreading some Intensified Luck in a place where half the people are high as a kite anyway? Why do you care? You're the mighty dragon king. You never show emotions. Unless…unless you're somehow interested in her," Dilandau purred, wisely omitting the fact that he had videographic evidence of just how interested in her Van appeared to be last night.

Van's look darkened while he diverted any superfluous energy to his backmost right molar. The audacity of this bastard! Dilandau's words were stirring a fire inside of him for unknown reasons. He just had to make it personal. This was supposed to be about propriety and what's right. About teaching him a lesson that messing with people wasn't okay. Not about Van.

"Shut up, Dilandau. This isn't about me!" Van lashed out verbally before lashing out physically again.

A tendon along Van's jaw popped when he ground his teeth in concentration. He tightened the grip on his sword, and it zoomed through the air in a big semi-circle between them before he slashed at Dilandau in a one-handed attack this time. Although the royal sword was long and heavy, Van was strong enough to use it like that for short periods of time.

Dilandau hadn't expected this. He felt the blade close to his face-too close-like a tickle, and a rush of adrenaline allowed him to use the dirtiest trick in the book. He saw an opening while Van recovered from the attack and took the chance to swipe the other man's legs out from under him, taking him down.

Unprepared, Van's head smacked against the hard ground with a sickening thud. For a few seconds, he saw only static, stars, and splotches of color before pain engulfed his head and radiated across his entire skull in the rhythm of his heartbeat.

They stared at each other. Van was rubbing his head, flinching as he felt something that reminded him of a soft dent on an apple that had been dropped. A few feet away, Dilandau stood drawing shallow breaths while slowly reaching for his cheek. Two fingers came away red. A thin, long gash there was beginning to ooze blood and his whole face was even paler than usual.

"Don't fuck around with innocent citizens! Now get the hell out of here!" Van snarled.

"Don't have to tell me that twice," Dilandau hissed back. He dropped the borrowed sword, and it clanked loudly on the stones, causing Van to clutch his ears. The sound reverberated in his head a thousand times louder than it was in reality.

Dilandau hurried down the hallways he had come through on the way in and took a sharp left to avoid a security guard by the auxiliary power room. He made sure to turn his face far enough the other way that the guy wouldn't see anything. He'd be damned if he let anybody see.

When he reached the ground floor, the sound of chirping birds greeted him as soon as he set foot onto the covered walkway around the bailey. Damn birds didn't have a fucking care in the world. If only they'd shut up. His thoughts began to pursue a more grotesque route when suddenly he felt like he was about to regret something.

"Hey, you!" The voice was coming from further away.

He froze for a moment without turning, then began to walk again even faster.

"Yeah, you!" The voice was already closer.

A surprisingly firm hand grabbed his upper arm and brought him to a stop.

"Wait a minute. Don't I know you? But…oh, dang, what happened to your face?" Celena asked, blue eyes wide.

"It's nothing," Dilandau answered stubbornly, shaking off her hand and covering the bloody cheek with a hand. "Go away."

"That doesn't look like nothing," Celena said, hands braced on her hips accusingly.

"Whatever," Dilandau grumbled, taking off the plaid shirt which left him standing in a white, ribbed tank top. He proceeded to bunch up the flannel and pushed it against the wound. "Leave me alone."

One of Celena's eyebrows rose slightly. She hadn't expected him to be so toned. There was more to him than anticipated. He clearly didn't just sit in an office all day like she'd been told, so maybe the wound on his cheek wasn't due to an accident.

"Did you get in a knife fight with someone? You seem upset about more than just the injury."

"It's none of your business. Stay the hell away from me," Dilandau replied. "If I have to tell you again, it's going to be in the form of a shove." He felt panic rise. She was beginning to do it again- reading him like an open book. This was creepy as hell.

Dilandau turned on his heels and was about to take off again, but she was faster. The blonde's hand wrapped around his wrist like a vise and stopped him again. In any other circumstance, he wouldn't have had a problem physically pushing her away, but now one look at her face stopped him. He just couldn't do it.

"It'd be better if you let somebody look at that wound. It looks pretty gnarly," Celena volunteered her wholly unsolicited opinion about the matter. "I'm sure the royal physicians can…"

"No way!" Dilandau interrupted her. "I'm not going to them." He shook off her hand, and she let go easily.

"But why-" Celena attempted again.

"I told you, little girl. It's none of your business!"

"Then at least let **me** help you," she offered.

With a smarmy grin, Dilandau replied. "Oh, why I'd just love **that,** of course…"

"Happy to!" Celena exclaimed with gladness.

"…not!" Dilandau finished his previous answer and took a threatening step in her direction, towering above her.

Affronted by his sudden back and forth in mood, Celena jumped a bit. It made the look on her face change. She looked upset. Now **that** , he knew how to handle.

"That's right. Fuck off. I don't need you or anybody else to help me," Dilandau affirmed his previous statements.

Celena smiled brightly.

What the hell?

The next caustic comment died on his tongue.

Celena quickly reached for his free hand- the one that was slightly raised and balled into a tight fist between them to emphasize his point and current emotional state. Two of her fingers found spots near his wrist, dug into the soft tissue between his bones, and exerted moderate pressure. What she was doing caught him so off guard that she had all the time in the world to step around him and find another pressure point somewhere between his neck and shoulder.

"What are…," Dilandau stammered dumbly.

Celena laughed softly. "Sorry. Hopefully, this doesn't hurt. I only just read about this technique before you walked past me. I'm using acupressure points to immobilize part of your somatic nervous system. Now come with me," she encouraged him. "By the way, I'm 24 and only look like a little girl next to huge windbags."

Before becoming angrier, Dilandau allowed himself to be impressed by her resilience. Other people would have hightailed it by now, but she somehow was immune to his…charm.

It wasn't like he could have done anything but what she wanted, because she gave him a little push and maneuvered him around the other way, then marched them both off.

Dilandau was speechless. His left hand was still clutching his shirt, pressing it to the wounded cheek while she held his cold left hand tightly in hers. The other was still at his neck, and whatever she was pushing on caused a dull throb to take control of his nervous system.

They walked only a short distance out of the walkway, a few steps down the staircase into the garden, and to a spot between a tree and a lush rosebush. Since Sunday at the castle meant it was minimally staffed, it at least also meant that nobody would see him humiliated like this. What the hell did she want, anyway? Didn't she have better things to do than annoying him?

Apparently, she had set up camp here before, because a book about self-defense and a knit vest rolled up into a makeshift pillow were scattered on the grass there. The girl in the sundress didn't look at all like she'd be interested in a book about self-defense.

"Please, have a seat."

Celena gave him no real choice and a firm nudge to turn him around. Her facial expression was frighteningly persuasive too- intimidating almost. Her eyes may have appeared innocent to others with their pale blue color, but in that fleeting moment, Dilandau saw more: somebody who shouldn't be underestimated. How could he have missed it before?

Just as quickly as the thought had come, he dismissed it again. He didn't have time for shit like this. Psychoanalyzing her was a waste of time.

Celena placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him into a comfortable sitting position. Her warm fingers were gripping his bare shoulders confidently, and it left him a bit speechless.

"Take a minute to calm down. You're all riled up."

Celena plopped down next to him, then loosened the knot of the pink, silk necktie she was wearing. "Here, take this. Silk supposedly has antibacterial properties. My brother says injuries to the face always bleed more than they need to."

Dilandau slowly reached for the proffered item. What could it hurt? While he used the soft cloth to stop the bleeding, she told him some about herself, and that's how he learned her name.

She told him where she was from and why she was here, who her brother was, and what she aspired to be.

Celena also didn't ask any more questions. She just talked. It wasn't entirely annoying. Her voice was soft and not too high-pitched. It was a relief. He hated that in a woman.

Just because she talked didn't mean she wasn't paying attention to what he was doing. Celena thought about what little she knew of Dilandau from Merle and combined it with her own observations. He worked for diplomats of Zaibach, had been in Fanelia since he was a young boy, had no close family, and spent a lot of time around the king.

In addition to that, she'd seen him gain pleasure from causing someone else distress, and it hadn't even been aimed at a specific person. He'd just enjoyed the chaos he could create. It was likely because he didn't have much else to enjoy. It was a power game. But why?

Deep beneath the mockery and the indifference he displayed, was it possible that he hurt?

"Dilandau."

He heard his name.

"Huh?" He blinked and faced her, surprised.

"That's your name, isn't it?" Celena asked him.

He nodded.

"How about Dilly?"

"Only if you have a death wish."

She laughed freely at his half-assed threat- as if it meant nothing to her.

"Do you know why I know your name?"

"No. Let's keep it a mystery."

Ignoring him, she went on. "I know your name because…," then paused, playing with a stalk of grass between her fingers as if considering what to say next. "It was the king, wasn't it?" She jumped from one subject to the next, trusting him to follow her thoughts as they were bouncing around fast.

He turned away, and it was all the answer she needed.

"I asked you before, but I'm asking again. Why did you do it?" Her voice was soft still with disappointment ringing in it.

She was referring to the incident at the club again. Didn't she know already? She seemed to know more about him than he was comfortable to admit.

Dilandau's mind screamed for him to get to his feet and run, but his limbs refused.

He shrugged. " I was bored. There's your answer. Now can you get me back to normal so I can get the hell out of here?"

Celena laughed and flicked his nose with a finger. "Sure! Here ya go!"

Dilandau wiped the ghost of her touch away quickly. "Was that necessary?"

"No. I just wanted to do it," Celena admitted. "You could have left the moment I let go of you but didn't."

That comment confused and enraged him. Why hadn't he been able to get up? Why was his body betraying him? Without another word, powered by that fresh rush of anger, he scrambled to his feet and hurried off, leaving Celena behind.

* * *

Princess Merle shifted on her chair at the royal breakfast table Monday morning. It was decked out like every day with ample amounts of coffee, scrambled eggs, fruit, pastries, and cereal. The dining room was flooded with light, and its cheerful ambience would lift anybody's spirits.

With the guests asleep still, it was just her right now. Even Van, who was normally an early riser, had not shown up yet. He was usually the first one at the table in the mornings. Odd...

…but speak of the devil.

When the king of the country finally trudged into the sunny room, he made a beeline for the row of floor-length windows, pulling the curtains shut one by one as he went, blocking out the bright morning sun.

Merle immediately knew he'd done something dumb, but what exactly she wasn't sure of yet. Probably wouldn't take her long, though.

"And how are you this morning?" Merle tested the waters with a harmless question.

Van pulled out a chair across from her, sat down, and finally answered. "I'm fine."

One of Merle's eyebrows rose as she jutted her bottom lip to the side. "Please tell me you didn't do anything stupid involving a certain Zaibachian albino."

Van didn't answer that one. Instead, he reached for the coffee pot- fine, Freidian ceramic- -in the middle of the table and poured himself a cup. The aroma sneaked into his nose, making him perk up a bit.

Merle waited patiently, although it cost her a great deal of self-control.

Eyeing the platter with the scrambled eggs, Van picked up the large serving spoon and cornered a scoop against the lip of the platter. After securing the food, he answered, "Nah. Just a sparring session for old times' sake."

If he'd had more sense this morning, the king would have known that such a vague answer wasn't going to satisfy his curious sister. He took a deep, calming breath and focused his attention on what was easy to tackle and right in front of him on the plate now: food. But…

Merle clanked a spoon against her own cup of coffee after stirring in a hefty helping of milk, then downed it nearly in one go.

The harsh sound made Van wince noticeably.

His sister crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Do you have any idea just how angry I am with you?"

"Judging by your face and posture, hopping mad I'd say," Van answered lazily, long since used to her bluntness.

"What's that gonna do to Fanelia's relationship with their attaché corps?"

Despite her love of parties, her funky outer appearance, and the open dislike for royal protocol, she cared as deeply about Fanelia as him.

Van finally looked at her sternly. "Nothing. He won't say anything about it, just like me. We both know diplomacy goes way beyond personal grudges. I only taught him a lesson he probably won't forget too fast."

Merle narrowed her eyes. "Why'd you do it? It's not like you at all." Digging into the pocket of her designer sweatpants, she found a strip of gum and unwrapped it while speaking. "Why did it make you so angry that he drugged this woman anyway?" In between chews of gum, she kept talking. "She's some friend of Allen's, right? Looked like he cares about her."

One of the side doors opened, and a woman in a simple, grey kitchen staff uniform appeared to refill the coffee pot. While the lady was clanking with the dishes, Van was clutching his head in one hand, massaging his temples with a blank stare, possibly thinking about what Merle had just said.

For a moment, she saw something dance in the depths of her brother's eyes.

When the servant was on the way out, Van finally answered. "She lives here. She's under my protection. Nobody messes with my people. You know that."

She did know that. Still, one of Merle's pink eyebrows was slightly strained as if she didn't believe the answer was this easy. Chewing her gum in deep thought, she watched her brother eat his food in silence for a while before speaking again.

"You don't look good. Did you get hurt pulling some crazy stunt during that 'sparring match'?" She used two fingers of each hand to emphasize the last two words and articulated them unnecessarily.

"It's nothing. Just a headache from hitting it on the floor," Van said.

"Go see the physicians!" Merle griped, already knowing he wouldn't. "Or at least let Millerna check you out."

"I told you I'm fine," Van grumbled. "Palace staff fussing over me is the last thing I need after being forced to stay in bed for a simple flesh wound from the dragon…"

To prove a point and keep him from downplaying his state of health, Merle produced a green bubble and popped it soundly, which made Van drop his fork of food and clutch his head in both hands.

"You sure?" Merle asked, frustration and concern underscoring her words.

A few seconds passed before Van lowered his hands again. "I'm sure. Nobody needs to know anything. It's just going to cause a massive shitstorm."

Merle sighed. Putting Fanelia first was nothing new, but ever since Van had been crowned, he was becoming more and more altruistic. Or so at least Merle thought. In reality, Van was a bit concerned, but he'd be damned if he'd show it.

He'd be better off only showing concern for his country and citizens from now on. The last few excursions and the event in the Mystic Moon had shown him exactly what could happen if he let himself be careless about what he wanted on a personal level.

Nevertheless, his head pounded like somebody was beating it with a mallet, and it kept him from being able to concentrate on some important documents on his study's desk later in the morning.

* * *

"Hitomi! What are you doing here?" Yukari's voice was full of disapproval.

Hitomi stowed her purse in one of the clinic lockers while attempting to calm her concerned bestie. "I'm fine. I promise. I slept all day Sunday, and staying in bed would only make me miserable."

"Don't be so stubborn. You were still supposed to take it easy today," Yukari scoffed, crossing her arms.

Hitomi talked while changing into a fresh set of scrubs while Yukari scrutinized her. "I know, but really, I'm okay. I'm just glad you and Amano and Allen found me before something happened."

"About that…," Yukari said. She hadn't had a chance to really tell Hitomi more about that fateful night. "I didn't want to overwhelm you yesterday in that hour you were awake, but…we didn't find you originally. It was Princess Millerna and King Van."

Clearly, this was exciting, and telling Hitomi that she'd had something to do with some royals overrode Yukari's protectiveness of her friend. This, and the fact that Yukari hadn't been able to detect anything out of the ordinary in Hitomi's behavior yet.

Hitomi stalled in her movements, head halfway through the shirt's opening before she tugged it down hastily and whipped her head around. "What?"

"Yeah. I wasn't sure how much you remembered. It was Allen who made sure we got to you, but the princess and the king were the ones who took care of you before that. You're so lucky she was there. Did you know she's been studying medicine despite her father's disapproval? I read it in a magazine not long ago…" Yukari kept talking about the princess, but Hitomi's mind was stuttering as she tried to remember any details of Saturday night.

Yes, she **did** know that, but how? She wracked her brain to find out, but it only pounded in response- an aftereffect of the residual drug still in her system. Dimly, there was a memory of talking to Princess Millerna and the king, but she thought her addled mind had fabricated it. Yukari was still talking when they got to the front desk, picked a random chart off the pile, and moved down the hallway to the first examination room.

Beige linoleum floors and white walls gave the place a sterile, boring appearance. It smelled like antiseptic from frequent cleaning and stale coffee from the break room.

Both Hitomi and Yukari were soon to graduate and advanced enough to operate alone, only requiring a signature on any paperwork from the physician whose name they practiced under.

Yukari continued the one-sided conversation in her usual, unperturbed manner. An upbeat personality was only one of the reasons why Hitomi loved her best friend so. Except right now while the chatter was keeping her from diving deeper into the foggy memories from Saturday night.

"…and I mean, did you see how good the king looked? And Princess Millerna? Of course, you must have. You were freaking talking to them for, like, an hour at least before everything went haywire! It's so un-freaking-believably insane that you talked to them!"

"Did I?" Hitomi asked quietly.

"Ye-es! Did you forget that too?"

"Apparently," Hitomi said quietly while closing the door behind them.

Hitomi stood by the sink next to Yukari as she jotted some notes onto the clipboard, all the while eyeing the patient who was sitting on the examination table.

The hint of a grin was tugging at his lips, but he fought it admirably. What the hell was he doing here?

Yukari poked Hitomi in the side. "Your turn, future graduate. I'll observe and comment this time."

Hitomi locked eyes with Van through his mirrored shades. She was patiently waiting for what was unavoidable. For Yukari to shriek in realization of just who was sitting on the table right across the small room.

His hair was sticking up in various angles, and nothing about his jeans and simple, red Henley so much as hinted at noble birth. Of course, there also were the mirrored shades. Him and his laughably stupid disguise. Light from the only window cast his shadow onto the wall as he sat perfectly still. There wasn't anything special about him.

Hitomi glanced at Yukari, full of expectation.

Waiting.

Waiting.

It would be a cold day in hell before he'd fool the biggest lover of high-gloss magazines south of Asgard.

Any moment now.

Still waiting...the clock on the wall clicked noisily for each second that passed...

…but no reaction came. Did she really not recognize Van Slanzar de Fanel?

"Hi, I'm Yukari, and this is Hitomi. We're nurse practitioners." Yukari made the introduction with professionalism, since Hitomi was still speechless for another moment before playing along.

Indeed. Maybe it was a tad chilly in here.

"Hello," Hitomi said and swallowed to steady herself. "My name is Hitomi."

Shit…hadn't Yukari just said that already? Embarrassing.

Oh, heck it.

"I'll be taking care of you today…"

Why, oh why, had that come out sounding so suggestive when she'd said the same thing to hundreds of patients before?

"Ryu," Yukari supplied the patient's fake name.

Nice one, dragon king.

Yukari was completely oblivious to Hitomi's internal struggle.

Regardless, Hitomi pulled a medical supply cart over and asked him to hike the sleeve of his shirt up high enough to wrap the blood pressure cuff around his bicep. While she was doing so, she steeled herself for whatever was going to happen while explaining to him what she was doing, like she would for any patient.

Only, the fact that it was him changed everything. Mainly because **she** didn't know what all **he** knew. Being so close to him again, unprepared, was all a bit much, and she didn't understand why her heart was racing so. Especially since she'd been convinced that Allen had been her savior Saturday night, but now with this new information...

They were like night and day. Allen was gallant and smooth while the Fanelian king was reserved and almost rough around the edges. Why was she comparing them anyway? The way her thoughts were going unnerved her.

The king's breathing was strangely exaggerated between them and that did nothing to help.

On a scale from one to ten, Van's attractiveness had already been at eleven since day one. But now, with him suddenly so close again, it skyrocketed to twenty.

She stared at the stethoscope's bell on his brachial artery just below the cuff's edge. On his bicep. His very nicely shaped, big bicep. What finally made her focus more on the medical aspect of him being here was the elevated blood pressure reading.

"125 over 80," Hitomi announced. "That's higher than it should be."

Hitomi was right in front of him, and her hands were still on his arm. They were warm, gentle and her nearness more distracting than he was willing to admit.

"Uh huh," he agreed unintelligibly, looking up a bit and facing her through the shades.

Hitomi only saw herself in the glass.

"What are your complaints?" Hitomi asked him, business-like.

Van cleared his throat a bit. "I've had a killer headache since yesterday, and loud noises make it even worse. Hard to concentrate on work."

"Did you experience any cranial trauma?"

"What?"

"Your head. Did you hit it?" Hitomi regained some measure of self-awareness while Yukari's pen scratched on the paper behind them.

"Yeah…"

"You probably have a concussion," Hitomi instantly diagnosed, sounding a bit more worried than she wanted to.

She heard Yukari step up behind her. "Wait a minute. You can't just say that. You haven't even checked his pupils or his head." Her friend extended a hand and snatched the shades right off Van's face.

Hitomi gasped and held her breath.

Van screwed his eyes shut the moment he noticed the shades leaving his face. "Hey! Give those back, please. Light hurts my eyes a lot right now."

Hitomi snatched them out of her friend's hand who took a step back, a bit perturbed by the patient's reaction. "Jeez. I'm terribly sorry. Let me turn the light off then."

Yukari gladly backed off and flipped the light switch by the door. The room became a bit darker but not much.

Thinking quickly, Hitomi reached to the side and pulled on the privacy curtain behind them to separate the room. It was there to shield the patient from view should somebody open the door during an examination. It also blocked some of the light from the window on the other half.

"There, this should help too. You can open your eyes now," Hitomi assured him.

Her voice was low and calming. Van trusted her and cracked his eyes open. The last time they'd been semi-alone behind a curtain of sorts and close like that had been right before she'd kissed him. Judging from what conversation snippets he'd overheard when the two women entered, there was a chance that she didn't remember.

Van was sort of glad about the possibility that she didn't recall that kiss. He already felt bad enough for having let it happen, but her knowing about it would probably make it twice as bad. Either because she would blame herself, him, or both of them. Neither option was desirable.

Part of him was wondering though: what would she do if she knew just how close she'd been to him? Again. Closer than he'd let any random woman get to him right now. But she wasn't any random woman, was she? It felt different being around her.

Unexpectedly, she leaned in. He was just hallucinating, wasn't he? She wasn't going to kiss him again, was she? Well, he sure didn't want to cause a scene by refusing her!

He held his breath while her fingers moved across his head in a way that felt far too good to ignore. Trailing across the sides and around back, carefully searching for, probably, a good position.

His own hands became sweaty from where they laid in his lap.

Until she found the bump and he flinched. Of course. Just kidding. He hadn't really thought **or** hoped she'd kiss him. Of course he'd known she was only looking for the injury.

In a hushed tone, Hitomi whispered, "Why are you here? Don't you have the best physicians working for you?"

Very sobering.

"I do, but it's complicated. If I went there, it would cause problems for someone else and more drama than Fanelia could stand."

Hitomi huffed quietly. So, he didn't want to rat out the other one involved and put his country first, save them both a load of trouble and keep as much peace as possible. She respected that.

"I do still need to check your pupillary reflex."

She pulled a small penlight from her shirt pocket and shone it directly into Van's eye. The pain of the light shot like lightning from his pupil straight into the pain center of his brain. It made him curse under his breath and grab her wrist in reflex, to push the light away.

Hitomi nearly dropped the penlight.

Van's other hand shot out to take hold of her shoulder and keep her from harming him, his brain having registered an impending attack.

Hitomi froze. He'd pulled her a bit closer in the process, making her end up standing between his knees. His reaction was only natural. Keeping your enemies close and such- both metaphorically and physically.

They both blinked, staring at each other for a second, and in that moment, Hitomi balanced on a knife-edge of clarity. His scent triggered a few memory fragments but nothing more. She'd definitely been close to him that night- closer than simple acquaintances would be, that was for sure. Now if she could only remember what exactly…

"Everything okay there?" Yukari asked from behind the curtain.

"Yes!" Van and Hitomi both snapped simultaneously.

Van was staring directly at her, his grip finally softening a bit but not letting go.

"Pupillary response is significantly delayed. Together with a sizeable hematoma on his head, he's got a grade two concussion," Hitomi finally managed to say.

When Yukari yanked the curtain back without warning, Van retracted his hands and quickly grabbed his shades to slide them back into place. If Yukari hadn't also been looking at the clipboard, she would have seen that. That and how Van's hands left Hitomi with obvious reluctance.

"Sounds about right. I'll get Doc to sign off on all that."

Yukari was already leaving and kept the door wide open for them to follow.

"Thank you," Van said with gratitude ringing in his tone of voice.

"No big," Hitomi shrugged. "You need rest. You shouldn't be out of bed. How did you even get here? And what would you have done if anybody else had examined you? People would lose it if they knew you're here."

Freaking good point, but he'd be damned if he admitted that he hadn't thought his cunning plan all the way through.

"I'd have…thought of something. And you're the one to talk! Shouldn't you be recovering from that wild ride on Saturday night?"

"I am! I mean…I did," Hitomi spoke with a hushed voice. "What do you know about it? Yukari said you and Princess Millerna found me."

"You mean you don't remember anything at all?" Van asked while slowly getting to his feet in front of her.

"N-no, except apparently we talked." This probably being the only chance to lay her worries to rest, she worked up the nerve to ask him. "Please tell me. Did I do anything…weird? I don't know what happened, but…thank you for looking out for me."

The king took another half step toward her, their bodies touching lightly. His left arm was so close to her right one that their hands brushed against each other, and he secretly relished it. Then he leaned down- near enough to whisper quietly in her ear. "Nothing to worry about and…you're welcome."

It was all they could do before anybody passed the wide open door or Yukari came back wondering what was taking them so long.

* * *

Whiskey was probably not one of the approved treatment methods for a grade two concussion, but it alleviated some of the dull pain this rush of new thoughts was causing Van's head on top of the physical damage. The amber liquid had a polite nose with light prickle and mild smokiness. A taste of white pepper lingered at the back of his throat after he downed a whole dram in one go.

Escaflowne was on one knee in front of him, motionless as one of the side panels on his casing was flipped open to allow Van better access to the memory storage.

What Van had found a while ago filled him with a strange restlessness even whiskey couldn't mellow. The program on the thumb drive Millena had given him had detected more hidden files in Escaflowne's memory bank. To Van's frustration, however, he couldn't figure out how to access them. Not even his Admin rights were able to bypass the encryption.

Together with the notebook his brother had left behind in his study, Van was sure everything would make more sense. Folken had written about dragons, theories, history, biology, but nothing that tied it all together. Nothing but the mention of Escaflowne right at the end.

Folken hadn't been able to write anything more down before he'd been sent beyond the wall for the rite of dragon slaying. What had compelled him to write all this?

"I foresee an adventure, my lord," Escaflowne's metallic voice cut through the silence.

"Maybe," Van answered. He sensed mild disapproval from the trusted machine.

"Just like your ancestors, living by the ABC's, are we? Adventurous, brave, creative. Oh, those were the days. My services were called upon more often then. Unfortunately, my programming prohibits me from showing enthusiasm for such a dangerous undertaking," Escaflowne joked.

Van snorted quietly, expressing slight amusement while watching the setting sun paint the roofs of the city below lavender and crimson. It sure seemed like he was due for a walk in the woods.

 **Tbc...**


	6. Act 1, Chapter 5

**A/N: Man it's been a while hasn't it? Can't say much except I've been mad busy. But who cares, right? On with the story.**

 **[Edit 03/30/19: Chapter edited by OfSilverRaindrops. Thank you so much!]**

 _King of Anything_

Act 1, Chapter 5

 _In which a door opens and Escaflowne calls Van out on something._

The secret for running efficiently, as Hitomi knew, was to transfer propulsive power from the upper body and arms to the legs. Granted, for long-distance runners endurance was most important, and they usually had the body to match. She was a sprinter though, and sprinters needed to be able to utilize the muscles above the waist too.

One of the cool things about Fanelia was that there was a tartan track around the inside perimeter of the wall. City planners had clearly not only been creative, but also kept the recreational needs of citizens in mind. Hitomi's favorite stretch was by the north sector, where the area around it was landscaped into a beautiful park, as opposed to the parts that were next to a road or behind tall buildings.

When Hitomi did her longer runs, the proximity to the wall was convenient for another reason: the electric fence way at the top. Its energizers continuously sent pulses through the various rows of wire, timed perfectly so that she could pace herself to exactly 180 beats per minute. One mid-foot strike for each click.

She preferred this to music from her headphones simply because it was difficult to relax with her ears plugged up. It made her feel like that kind of obstruction hindered the free flow of thoughts. After all, running wasn't just her favorite sport, it was also a good way to process certain things.

And one thing was for sure- she had a lot to think about as of late. Not only were the random encounters with the king on her mind, but she was still struggling to remember what had happened at the Mystic Moon in the later hours. She just couldn't let go of the suspicion that something weird had gone down before her friends had found her.

In addition to that, Yukari and Amano were pushing her to accept Allen's invitation on a date. He'd asked her earlier today, left her a message, but she'd refrained from responding so far. She wasn't sure why she was hesitating. Not like a bit of fun could hurt.

Allen was an awesome guy, as far as she could tell. His service to Asturia's royal family made him a prime example of patriotism and bravery. He'd certainly shown interest in her the other night and not just because she'd been conveniently available. Interested, but not pushy or butting in while she was having a conversation with Princess Millerna and King Van. Argh, there he was again.

That whole situation was becoming clearer again in her memory, but still seemed strangely surreal given the circumstances.

Anyway, she liked that in a man- the ability to let her do her own thing too. In the end, Allen had been there when she needed him most. He'd taken the time to bring her home together with Yukari and Amano to make sure she was okay. Something the king could've never done. Not like he'd have time for something so trivial.

What an insane notion, really. It would also insinuate that he cared about her, and they certainly didn't know each other well enough for that. Oh, no. No, no, no. What a crazy thought. It threw Hitomi off so much that she had to take a break from running even.

Slowing down, she came to a stop and braced her hands on her knees, catching her breath and savoring the effects the physical exhaustion had on this web of slowly untangling thoughts. Hitomi decided to walk for a bit. After all, she'd ran quite far already and still needed to get all the way back home.

* * *

Okay, no take-backsies. He'd planned this at the palace thoroughly enough. Van steeled himself behind the dense row of bushes the security door was inconspicuously located behind.

Everybody knew that there were doors in the walls in regularly spaced intervals, but they were concealed so as not to take away from the aesthetic of whatever was around it. They were also tightly locked, only to be opened by somebody who had a code—and only very few people had this code.

Anyway, now it was time for some doing. Van was a doer, not a don'ter. Not that he wasn't good at thinking too. Van was usually clever. But there's a catch. Sometimes when you stopped to think, like now, it was like opening up a can of worms. Because at that moment, you could ask yourself questions with no easy answer.

Such as this one: "What on Gaea do you think you are doing?!"

Wait, what?

He turned around in slow-motion, having recognized the voice but finding himself in slight denial.

Hitomi and Van stared at each other in disbelief. Out of all the people in Fanelia…

"What am **I** doing? What are **you** doing?" Van asked, completely playing down the fact that he was the one messing with the security door of the city walls, while she was the one doing something as normal as running.

The king was clearly out undercover again. He looked ordinary in a dark shirt, sweatpants, and a pair of sneakers. His mirrored shades were ever-present together with his mop of unruly, dark hair. Next to Hitomi in her running shorts, it looked like they were hanging out together to enjoy this nice, warm evening.

Except, Van had a sword hanging from a belt around his waist. A very important, unique sword which would have immediately raised suspicions.

Hitomi came closer, fully rounding the tall bush Van stood behind, then gaped past him at the large sentry close by. She paused- a solid five seconds' span of time in which she realized that the Guymelef, a robotic samurai in panoply next to him, was the famed Escaflowne. She'd never seen him in real life, never thought she ever would. After all, that would've meant she'd be near the king.

Considering that as a possibility would have elicited a fit of laughter from her just a week ago, but then she'd straight up tripped and fallen into kissing him. And since then, she'd not only been near him- she knew him in a way few others did. Or at least she assumed as much, given that the king wasn't exactly known for being a ladykiller.

Not that the female masses didn't yearn for him. It was just that high society folk weren't usually known for being discreet about their exploits with the other gender. He was an exception.

Hitomi shook her head, forcing herself to concentrate on the original question. "Don't distract me. You're the one sneaking around in a disguise about to open a door to the outside."

Van briefly scanned the surroundings for people before answering. "I'm not sneaking around. I have things to do, so please excuse me," he explained matter-of-factly, as if he was about to casually walk into a council chamber or otherwise go about his daily routine.

Hitomi's eyes grew wide. "Are you crazy? You can't just walk on out… **there** ," she emphasized it with an open-handed gesture towards the wall, meaning the woods. "And in case you've forgotten, you still have a concussion!"

Van leaned a bit towards her, annoyed by her bossy attitude. "I'm not crazy, and I feel fine. I'll be fine."

There. That ought to show her. He'd be damned if he'd let her tell him what to do and not to do.

"You can't go out there!" Hitomi insisted again, unmoved by his attempt at displaying authority.

Apparently, she didn't care at all about who she was talking to and what the consequences could be. Now _that_ agitated and amused him in equal measure.

His disguise made him feel less required to behave kingly. Together with her challenging tone, it prompted him to respond more like a royal pain than anything else.

Van shrugged. "Oh, yeah? Who's going to stop me? You? Besides, Escaflowne will be with me, so it's not like I'll be alone."

Hitomi was speechless for a moment. He did have a point. It wasn't like she could physically stop him,especially not if his iron bodyguard had anything to say about it. He was probably programmed to protect the king even if it meant murder. It made her a bit more cautious about her approach.

"What makes you want to go out there anyway? It's almost sundown."

Van chuckled under his breath before answering. "That's your main concern here?"

"Well, I haven't ranked them." Hitomi was still a bit out of breath from her run. Granted, she should have probably taken a few more moments to think through what she was going to say, but now it was too late to back down.

All in all, Van really was more entertained than annoyed by now, although he didn't show it. Did she really think she was capable of keeping him from going out there?

Here she was: a good head shorter than him and armed with nothing but her wits. Her hands were braced on her hips while she peered at him accusingly from under her short bangs. A bit confrontational but not completely sure about it. Kind of cute, actually.

But he had to stay focused if he wanted to accomplish anything this evening.

A little irritated by his thoughts of her, Van turned to face the keypad again and punched in the security code. The door unlocked promptly. "Do me a solid and pretend like you didn't see us. This doesn't concern you," Van said to Hitomi when she still made no move to leave.

"Absolutely not!" Hitomi protested.

Stubborn woman! Why was she making this so difficult for him? Why did she care if he went out there?

"Look, it's not like I need your permission. I'm going, and that's that." For a second, Van toyed with the thought of playing the royal card. He could order her to bugger off, but something told him that that was a thoroughly terrible idea.

While Van still considered this, Hitomi's face hardened. She'd made some sort of decision about this situation. "I'm coming with you."

Van whirled around to face her again, his eyebrows close together behind the rim of his shades, underlining his reaction. "Absolutely not!" Van repeated her own statement from earlier. "There are dragons. You can't even fight!"

Hitomi's concern was sincere now. "And you're the king of Fanelia. What if you get injured or die?"

"I won't, ok? I've been out there and fought a dragon before, in case you've forgotten. It's why they gave me the crown."

Yes, she did remember. He'd been sent out there completely alone, tasked with slaying a dragon using nothing but a sword—and had succeeded. Something only few people would be capable of. He could definitely take care of himself. However…

"And I'm a nurse. A nurse who's patched you up and examined you twice. If you get injured, you'll need medical attention."

"She's got you there!" Escaflowne interjected. The sentry had been listening patiently, usually mostly quiet when unknown individuals were around but couldn't resist to partake.

Van pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stay calm. He couldn't throw the incident from the Mystic Moon, where **he'd** saved her, back in her face. He wanted to prove a point but knew she didn't remember everything.

He also refrained from mentioning that both times he'd needed her medical attention was due to her involvement in the first place. He didn't have time for this. Instead, Van directed his frustration at the sentry who'd elected to become comfortable speaking in the most irksome of moments.

"Are you really taking her side?" Van exclaimed, incredulous.

Escaflowne shrugged his massive shoulders. "Just the side of the more reasonable individual, considering that the king's wellbeing is at stake."

"Fine!" Van threw his hands up in a gesture of exasperation. "You can stay here then. And make sure she does too." He pointed towards Hitomi.

Her eyes narrowed in response to the patronizing gesture. "You're impossible!" Hitomi blurted out and then, not caring about who she was insulting, added, "Pigheaded, even!"

Van chuckled in vexation. He couldn't believe it.

"And you're overbearing!"

"…reckless…"

"…meddlesome!"

"…a royal brat."

Within seconds they were in each other's face, arguing heatedly. Escaflowne's head went left and right as they tossed insults back and forth.

"You can't go through the wall unless authorized. You'd be trespassing- breaking and entering!" Van looked inordinately pleased with his sound argument.

"Great, I haven't committed any felonies yet today. Anyways, it's more like breaking and exiting." Hitomi responded quite coolly, quickly wedging the door open far enough to slip through.

Van wasn't far behind. She could feel him thrumming with frustrated energy while shouting various other unconvincing arguments after her. "There are other things out there than just dragons! Like…bugs! Huge bugs!"

Hitomi snorted under her breath, not sure where her boldness and bravery were coming from but pressing on. "Oh, don't worry about me. I'm faster than you for sure. In a pinch, I can run."

"The sun is already setting. You said it yourself! It's going to be dark soon."

Roll of the eyes on Hitomi's part. Like that would make her turn around.

It was dark in the passage, but she could see daylight on the other end not far away. The walkway was just about tall enough for Escaflowne to fit through. There wasn't another door at the end, so the corridor could offer shelter to any unfortunate soul who may be stranded on the other side for whatever reason. Big enough for a person or a Guymelef but way too narrow for a dragon to follow.

Hitomi's resolve began to falter when she stepped out on the other side. The change in scenery was immediate and drastic. It was a jungle. She took two steps into the tall grass, hesitated some on the next, then stopped completely. For real. What did she think she was going to do out here?

"Changed your mind? It's alright. You've proven how serious you are. I won't give you a hard time about it, but you need to turn around and go back into the city." Van's voice was close to her. It had softened considerably, conveying sincere concern. "Go back, **please**. I don't want anything to happen to you." A hand settled onto her shoulder, heavy and comforting.

Hitomi wanted to turn around and look at him, but she was afraid he would see how scared she truly was. Instead, she squared her shoulders and, with deafeningly silent conviction, brushed his hand off and began marching into the gloomy forest in front of them.

Despite his frustration, Van felt a bud of respect blossoming and that irked him terribly.

"She's clever and brave, but her compassion could get her in trouble," Escaflowne commented.

"Yeah…that's what I'm afraid of," Van agreed quietly. "Remember, if we encounter any kind of trouble, don't interfere. Not unless I tell you to."

"As you command." Escaflowne had no choice but to agree with his master.

Hitomi was walking pretty fast for somebody who had no idea where they were headed. Pretty soon, the forest's canopy swallowed most of the daylight. Dense patches of fern covered the ground, and thick moss had hungrily taken over bark on live and fallen trees all around. There wasn't even a path of any kind.

She could hear Van close behind and Escaflowne's heavy, metal feet crush thick branches she'd nimbly stepped over. All in all, being on the other side of the wall was a lot different than she'd imagined. Of course, nobody did any landscaping out here.

What else had she thought it was going to be like? Even when flying into Fanelia, the bird's-eye view only gave a rough idea of what it was like outside the wall. Likewise, the short dirt road between the airstrip and the main gates for the armored vehicles was maintained by some Guymelef worker drones. It certainly wasn't an accurate representation of what the forest really looked like.

When she finally realized that it was pointless to stalk around the forest without aim, Hitomi stopped and one of the ferns tickled her leg as she stood idly, thinking. All of the sudden it felt really stupid to have run off like that. She sighed lightly before speaking. "Why are we out here, anyway?"

 _Funny you should finally ask._

Van snorted accusingly and crossed his arms. " **We** are out here because…"

She sent him a pointed glare hearing the tone in his words, and he caught it out of his peripheral vision. It made it all the easier to pretend like he hadn't seen it.

"…I'm looking for my brother."

He paused for emphasis while Hitomi turned fully and faced him, her heart clenching a bit. His brother was dead. Everybody knew that.

"Or what's left of him," Van finished the thought.

Okay, it wasn't like Hitomi had assumed; he was coming out here for funsies. Of course, there was a solid reason, but she hadn't considered for it to be such a sad one.

"I want to find out why he failed at the rite of dragonslaying. Finding where he fought the dragon could give me some clues." This seemed like a safe answer. She didn't need to know what had prompted him to go on this quest now, after nearly ten years. Although Hitomi had proven to be trustworthy so far, this was on a strict need-to-know basis, and she didn't need to know more than that. "So, I'll have to warn you. You might not like what you see when we find it."

"Little late for that," Hitomi answered quietly, fully aware that her spontaneous decision was getting her more of an adventure than she'd bargained for. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to accompany him. Not like she'd given him a choice. Well, too bad. She wouldn't admit that now.

"Is it alright with you if I take the lead now?" Van asked with a mocking undertone. "Because I know which way to go. Unless, of course, you've changed your mind. In which case Escaflowne will be happy to escort you back to the wall."

The look on her face when he said that. She didn't answer. Not verbally. Eyes narrowed, her spine and limbs became rigid, and she seemed to grow a few inches from sheer agitation. He was really getting to her.

"Lead the way," she said.

Van simultaneously uncrossed his arms and rolled his eyes, already turning to backtrack where they'd come from. Hitomi cringed a bit inwardly. He'd let her walk in the completely wrong direction, be stubborn as hell, and all without saying a word. She chewed on her lip nervously. Damn. Whether it was an attest to patience or him proving to her that she had absolutely no business being out here, she couldn't be sure.

A few minutes later he changed the direction, leading them west.

"Wait, but…how do you know the way?" Hitomi's curiosity won over her embarrassment.

When they passed the next tree, Van looked over his shoulder, then reached for a spot on the thick bark. He pointed at two notches about four inches in length. They could have been easily missed if one didn't know what to look for. His face took on a sentimental expression.

"Following these. This one," he traced the bottom notch, which looked newer, "was carved by me. And this one," he switched to the old, withered one, "was carved by my brother. Pretty simple. It's so we wouldn't get lost."

Hitomi's eyebrows rose in realization. Of course!

"When I was out here not too long ago, I followed my brother's trail. I wanted to search for the spot where he died and see for myself what happened but…"

"…you came across a dragon first," Hitomi finished for him.

Van nodded. "After that, I didn't have the strength or nerve anymore."

He didn't need to explain why he hadn't been up for a hike through the woods after battling a dragon—after suffering a pretty bad wound no less.

They kept on walking, sometimes having to climb over small boulders and branches or push through thick bushes when there was no way around. Ten, then twenty or so minutes passed from what Hitomi could judge.

Further and further away from the wall they went, causing her stomach to knot up. Meanwhile, Van seemed unimpressed. He ambled almost leisurely through the forest as if it was something he did every day. Sometimes he'd push a branch out of their way, holding it so Hitomi could pass before letting it swing back into place.

Escaflowne was right behind Hitomi, and every now and again, she'd turn her head to catch a glimpse of the robot. She wasn't sure if having him behind herself was eerie or supposed to make her feel safer. The giant didn't have a face, so it was hard to tell if he was friendly or not.

Hitomi was still puzzling over that until Van stopped abruptly. She nearly collided with his broad back but caught herself just in time.

"Why are we stop…oh...," she trailed off.

There, on a small clearing less overgrown by tall grass, they saw a sword. It was sticking out of the ground at an angle and a few thin vines were curled around it, using it as a support to grow. From where she stood, Hitomi could see the weapon's metal was dull and even rusty in some spots.

What made her gasp wasn't just the sword but the various bones next to it. Bones decayed like anything else but more slowly so. In a climate as hot and humid as Fanelia, and if left exposed to water, insects, and air on peaty soil, bacteria and other microorganisms were easily able to invade the porous structure and tear it down over the course of years.

"Are those?" Van asked the nurse at his side.

"Yeah," Hitomi confirmed. No need to explain it. He knew.

"Escaflowne, scan the area for more of Folken's remains." The command was spoken with a severe lack of intonation, as if what he was seeing didn't affect him at all.

Escaflowne's eyes behind the visor lit up briefly and sent a red laser beam traveling across the ground around them, then further into the distance in all directions. Hitomi was torn between being impressed by the sentry and focusing on the gruesome scene before them. She had no idea what all the robot could do.

In the meantime, Van slowly walked over to the sword, carefully wrapped his fingers around the handle, and picked it up. The weapon rested in both his hands as he stood and held it. Hitomi thought she saw him shake ever so slightly.

"My lord, my scanners cannot detect more of Prince Folken's remains in the immediate area. It is likely that the rest of his body was dragged further away into the woods by the dragon or decomposed some time ago."

Van ground his teeth while still staring at the sword, then gripped the handle in both hands and raised it above his head, the pointy end facing down. With a single thrust, he pierced the ground and the sword sank into the earth about halfway. When he released it, it remained there in a similar fashion as they had found it- a memento to the lost Prince of Fanelia. A marker for a grave without a body.

He should have brought a shovel, but that couldn't be changed right now.

Hitomi took a deep breath and dared to come to Van's side. "How do you feel?"

Now there was a loaded question.

Even her own heart was heavy. Not just because Van and she were the first, maybe only, people able to mourn the lost Prince at the place of his demise, but because she was witnessing something significant and very personal. The man next to her had lost his brother in an extremely gruesome way, never in the clear about what exactly had happened, and was now face to face with his rotting bones. Something nobody ever should have to see.

Van exhaled audibly. He looked shattered enough to admit a personal thought but all he said was, "I'm fine."

That, for some reason, really irked Hitomi. King or not, nobody needed to pretend that seeing a scene like this left them cold. "That can't be true! How can you say that?"

Van clenched his eyes shut. "It's none of your business. Why do you care?"

Hitomi couldn't believe it. There they were, standing right in front of what was left of his brother, and he wasn't shedding so much as a tear. Okay, he didn't need to cry, but at least show some kind of emotional reaction. Pretending to be unmoved by it wasn't healthy.

She wanted to be compassionate, but his stubbornness made Hitomi angry. She huffed, "Why should I not care?"

Looking back and forth between the pile of bones, the sword, and Van, she then kept her eyes firmly on him. She was the very image of someone who wanted to keep her priorities straight while still being visibly shaken by the scene in front of them.

Van stood there for a moment in silence, then continued to speak, undeterred. "Because caring hurts more than a dragon's claws. It's like a wound that never closes or a bone you broke that never got set right. Caring is something that will keep hurting and never go away."

His answer, so calmly stated, nearly agitated her more than the words themselves. How could he say something like that?

Hitomi's brow furrowed and her lips pursed tightly. It had hit home. She prided herself in being compassionate even when it wasn't about her.

"Listen, he's been dead for nearly ten years. I wanted to know what happened to him, but it won't make me want to process his death all over again," Van said. It didn't mean that he wasn't devastated. On the contrary, he'd loved his brother, but by now he'd accepted it.

"You can't just pretend like everything is okay. You came here to find this place, and we did and now… now you act like this won't change anything? I don't believe it! You wouldn't have done this if it didn't mean anything to you."

Oh, it meant plenty. Only she didn't know that. It meant Van was right back where he'd started. He was too late. Without any idea as to why Folken had failed, although he had been so sure to succeed. He would never be able to make a connection with his brother's notes and the encrypted files in Escaflowne's memory. It upset Van more than seeing the rotting bones and the rusty sword. It upset him so much that his next words came out harsh and cold.

"Being compassionate…caring about something that doesn't concern you…it's foolish," Van added for emphasis. "It'd be better if you stopped caring so much. It's only going to get you hurt."

"What if I don't mind?" she shot back.

Van shook his head. "That's only because you have a choice. You aren't responsible for a whole country. Must be really nice to be able to play the good Samaritan when it's convenient."

"You're impossible!" Hitomi shook her head and, without even thinking about it, took off.

Foot insert mouth. Good job, King Van.

Hitomi was fuming. She stormed and stumbled through the underbrush as fast as her feet and the terrain allowed, and only stopped when she was out of breath and felt thoroughly lost.

Maybe she shouldn't have run off like that. She had, after all, no way of defending herself from anything. Stupid. Really stupid!

Van's words had made her forget all about where she was- as if it were normal to be out in the woods. The gravity of the situation only sank in when leaves rustled around her and the ground began to shake. Her bare legs and arms were immediately covered in goosebumps.

One thing was for certain: in the whole hour or so they'd been out here, never once had the ground vibrated beneath their feet or the leaves rustled around them. There was a complete absence of wind thanks to the dense canopy above and the foliage all around.

But why was the ground shaking?

It was almost like something big and heavy was close by. Something like…a dragon.

Actually passing one put her situation into sharper focus. There it was- suddenly mere feet away from her. The very fabric Fanelian nightmares were made of.

The beast was massive by human proportions. Its body was long but plump around the belly with a thick hide. Lizard-like, green scales adorned its backside while a leathery, yellow membrane covered the chest and a part of its long neck. Within seconds, the dragon was in her face. Its snout was slick with moisture, and the hot breath coming out of it smelled like soot.

Hitomi's eyes flew open wide as fear knifed through her, and her mind blanked alarmingly. Her brain lacked the necessary processing power for a response, still busy downloading the required surge of adrenalin needed to power an escape.

As the dragon's head craned closer, some of its sharp teeth now visible, Hitomi was finally able to react in the most natural way possible. Slowly, her mouth opened and her chest expanded as she prepared to let out an ear-splitting scream, but it never happened.

One of Van's hands muffled the noise just in time. He was behind her with one hand pressed tightly against her mouth while quickly wrapping the other around her waist to keep her still. Hitomi began to breathe through her nose- frantic with fear. Her legs finally obeyed her again, but now she could neither scream nor run. Why wasn't he letting her run? Was he mental?

The beast blinked. It focused on them with both of its yellow eyes, the pupils shaped like almonds. Its tail hovered in the air not far away, the sharp bone spike at the end reminding Hitomi that dragons could cause damage to a human with other things than just their fire.

"Shhh. Calm down," the king whispered, his lips so close they were brushing against the shell of her ear. "Trust me."

She wanted to, but Hitomi's eyes were so focused on the dragon's looming form that she was beginning to shake uncontrollably. How was she supposed to calm down with a gigantic monster mere inches away from them?

Her hands, which had been clenched into fists at her sides, sought his because it was the only thing she could do. One flew to the hand that covered her mouth, adding an additional layer on top. She was doing a terrible job at being quiet and could hear herself weeping even through that. Her other hand grasped the arm he had wrapped around her waist, pulling it further around herself. It caused her back to push into his chest, fusing them together.

Hitomi was scared beyond her wits, and the king didn't think it necessary to try and get away. Unable to escape, she instinctively wanted to cover herself with a blanket like a scared little kid, except there was no blanket. There was only him and he seemed like an acceptable substitute at the moment.

"Easy. Just breathe. Don't let it get to you," Van kept talking to her calmly.

Sure. Easy peasy.

Hitomi's hands were clammy with fear while his were warm, a bit sweaty even, from their hike in Fanelia's roasting heat. He must have unsheathed his sword sometime before he found her, because it was clutched in the hand around her midsection. The pommel was digging into her ribs as he held it in a reverse grip, the steel of the blade cold against her upper thigh.

His heartbeat hammered against her left shoulder blade like a drum, strong but steady and way calmer than her own. Hitomi began to focus on that instead and forced herself to close her eyes.

She focused on that comforting pressure on her back every time his chest expanded and the subsequent puff of his breath on her neck. She focused on the words he murmured every now and again, promising her that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. And she even permitted herself to remember the last time they'd met, cooped up behind the curtain in the exam room, right after she'd found out that he'd been partly responsible for ensuring her safety while she'd been drugged.

Something told her that she could trust him. That nothing could ever harm her—not when he was near.

Hitomi's own breaths calmed, evened, and some of that tension left her. She allowed her neck to relax and rested the back of her head against Van's shoulder. Only now did she notice that his body heat rivaled that of the dragon's breath. Despite the evening's temperatures, it was different—comforting even.

While Van slowly felt the woman in his arms unwind, the dragon continued to stare them down and Van stared back, his mouth a straight line and his eyes matching those of the beast's in intensity. Escaflowne stood not far away, alert and ready to jump into action any second.

Another minute passed until the dragon blinked and then slowly retracted its long neck. It emitted a long, steamy breath through widened nostrils before taking a few steps back. Then it turned, more gracefully than expected for a creature of its size, and slowly disappeared the way it had come from.

Van let out a breath of relief of his own. He didn't know he'd been holding one. Hitomi's head was resting against his shoulder and her eyes were still shut. He looked her over from this perspective for a moment, then realized that he should probably let her go before things got awkward.

Hitomi still stood in Van's protective embrace, unmoving and unsure about what to do. She didn't have the sense to unravel herself, nor did she find herself wanting to just yet. What was that all about?

A bit reluctantly, Van's grip on her loosened first, freeing her. With that, the adrenaline subsided completely, leaving Hitomi standing on legs supported by nothing but joints made from Jell-O. The effects of what they had both just survived were finally catching up with her- the possibility that they could have died right then and there imbued with a terrible significance.

 _No big deal,_ was her final peevish thought before her knees gave away, and she slumped into a heap in the grass, relief glazing her eyes.

"Why…how…," Hitomi didn't know what to ask first, panting a bit from the still lingering adrenaline.

She heard Van step around her and first saw his sneakers, spots of dirt covering the white fabric, then his knees as he squat down in front of her. "Just… take a minute to recover. It's gone and it won't come back."

It was rather refreshing when Hitomi chose to follow his advice without the slightest sign of disagreement. She quietly counted to ten while breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth.

"Why didn't we run, or...or fight?" she finally asked, but quietly so.

Van flexed his empty sword hand. He'd apparently sheathed the weapon. "Because, first of all, it wasn't necessary. And second, attempting some wild escape or even engaging and injuring it to slow it down was out of the question."

Hitomi faced him, still supporting herself with both hands braced on her knees. "But…but why? Just standing there, we were so easy to kill. It could have toasted us in a heartbeat!" Her voice sounded strangled towards the end at the thought of a dragon enjoying some roast-Hitomi for dinner.

"Shh. Please chill. It's over," Van reminded her. "I couldn't risk agitating it while you were here too, okay? We were safer waiting to see if it would back off. If Escaflowne or I had tried to fight it, you could have gotten hurt, burned, or crushed. Fighting a dragon is messy…," he trailed off when Hitomi covered her face with both hands, her shoulders shaking.

Van dropped one knee to the ground to steady himself, much like that night at the Mystic Moon, and placed a hand around the side of her head.

"Hitomi. Look at me." His voice was gentle but demanding.

Warily, she uncovered her eyes, rubbing them in the process. She'd not cried, but the physical and mental exhaustion were evident on her face. A smudge of dirt on her cheek, together with hair tousled by sweat from hiking through the muggy woods, made her look like she'd been through quite the adventure.

Van absentmindedly smoothed down some of the hair sticking up on the crown of her head and wiped away the dirt on her face before speaking again. Hitomi watched him, mildly dumbfounded.

His expression was serious, but she liked to imagine that his eyes were soft behind the sunglasses, not being able to see them. "I promise I'll protect you with my life. I'll get you back safely, and nothing will ever happen to you out here. Not while I'm around. Do you understand?"

When Hitomi finally nodded numbly, he released her. Hotheaded as he was, never let it be said that Van Fanel was reckless when it came to the life of his people. After he rose, he extended a hand to help her stand, but she didn't accept it after all.

Stubborn. Frustrating. Was it because she suddenly remembered his harsh words? Thanks to his little speech earlier, she probably now thought he felt obligated to care, because she was living in his country. Not entirely wrong.

"Let's head back. Escaflowne, find the shortest way."

Van made sure to keep Hitomi between the sentry and himself. He hoped that the way back would not present any more unwanted surprises.

They hiked quietly, the only noises apart for their steps being the occasional song of a bird high up in a tree or the sounds of insects zipping past them. Due to the previous events, the relative silence was a bit unnerving.

Hitomi looked like she was fine, but deep inside her mind was probably still reeling. Van, for some reason, felt compelled to ensure her continued sanity. If only he'd chosen a different damn door, this all wouldn't have happened and he wouldn't be stuck feeling like crap about it. He observed the young woman in front of him for a moment, scanning her from the crown of her head down to her long legs. Her feet were clad in bright orange, minimalist running shoes.

"I've never seen shoes like that."

"Huh?" Hitomi turned her head for a moment, surprised about the randomness of the statement.

"The soles," Van pointed at them briefly.

"Oh," Hitomi nodded as she lifted one of her feet high in the back to let him see better. "These are running flats. They have hard plastic spikes that better grip on tartan tracks and dirt paths for cross-country running."

Instead of Van, Escaflowne responded out of the blue. "It's certainly fortunate that you seem to be better prepared for this excursion than Lord Van. Well equipped for escaping quickly, at least. Other than His Majesty, who refused to wear so much as a shred of armor before embarking on this quest."

Van glared at the sentry in disapproval. "Escaflowne!"

"Sire, I like a good adventure as much as the next Guymelef, but I feel compelled to mention that a more appropriate..."

"That's enough. Zip it," Van instructed him and, true to the command, the sentry did not respond.

Hitomi couldn't help but grin a bit. As serious as the king seemed, his bodyguard had lightened the mood. She had no idea Escaflowne had such a sassy personality. Really, she didn't know the machine had a personality at all.

To distract from Escaflowne's wisecracking, he kept talking to Hitomi in hopes that she'd soon forget the way his sentry had called him out.

"You like to run then?"

It worked. For now.

Hitomi was surprised that he was taking an interest in something so trivial. "Yeah. I was on my high school's track team. Competed a bunch but never broke any records. I still do it for fun and to stay in shape."

 _No kidding._ Van chanced a quick glance down to her bare legs. The running shorts left little to his imagination. "I see."

She then slowed down enough for them to walk side by side as much as the terrain allowed. Two people having a casual conversation. Except it was in a dragon-infested forest. Maybe it was best to distract herself that way until they got back to the wall.

"Do you have any…uh…hobbies?" Hitomi mentally kicked herself for that lame inquiry.

Van brushed his hand against the scabbard of the royal sword. "Uhm…sword fighting?"

His head throbbed in affirmation, reminding him of the nice "sparring session" with Dilandau and the concussion it had resulted in. It really was a good thing he hadn't been forced to engage the dragon. Who knew to what degree the swelling in his skull would've impaired his hand-eye coordination under the stress of battle?

After a moment of silence, Hitomi asked, "That's it?"

This prompted an undignified silence from the dark-haired king.

Oops. She hadn't meant to call him boring.

Cautiously peering to the side, she could only see his eyes a bit through the gap between the sunglasses and his face. If he took some offense to what she'd said, he made no show of it.

"I suppose so. Looks like I'm pretty boring after all. Whenever I can, I hide in the study to read. Not like I have a lot of time for myself these days."

Or he spent it sneaking out of the palace for a cup of coffee, of course.

"Sometimes I hang out with my sister too."

Hitomi's face brightened. "I hear she's fun."

Van laughed quietly when a series of snapshots starring Merle flashed through his head. A day not long ago when she'd dragged him to the designer mall and nearly acquired an entire wardrobe's worth of colorful clothing was still fresh in his memory. She'd been so excited to have convinced him to dog along, even though there were few things he hated more than shopping.

"You could say that. Do you have any siblings?"

Finally, the conversation flowed a bit better.

"A younger brother. But I haven't seen him in over two years."

"Parents?"

"Yeah. My brother still lives with them in Asturia."

"Do you miss them?"

"A lot." Hitomi nodded, her face reflecting a distant longing for the moment. "But it's not like I can't ever go back."

Van nodded. "Must be nice to have a family to come home to after you're done with school."

Hitomi grew sad then. That's right. The king did have a sister, but the rest of his family was dead. "I'm sorry. I know your…"

"It's fine," Van quickly interrupted her. No need to let her fumble for an unnecessary apology. She most definitely didn't owe him an apology for having a loving family.

Just like that, they both reached a dead-end and exhausted their need for idle chatter for the remainder of the trip.

Instead, they were left to their own observations about each other. Hitomi wondered how she was supposed to keep pretending like her life had been anything but normal as of late. Similarly, Van was busy puzzling over how it was possible that this woman had somehow kept popping up in the most random of moments.

Their interactions had all been so candid, especially today. Everywhere except for the evening at the Mystic Moon. Part of it was, of course, because Van had shown up as his official self. Anytime he was under the scrutiny of the public eye, he couldn't be himself. She was one of the few people outside the palace who was beginning to know him as few others did, although by sheer accident.

Likewise, Hitomi was in deep thought, wondering how many people had the chance to talk to Van Slanzar de Fanel the way she did. How many women could say that they'd been around unsupervised? How many of them he'd kissed or even… Halt. No. Why was she wondering about that again?

Lucky for her, the last rays of the setting sun were strong enough to warrant an excuse for flushed cheeks. Hitomi glanced at Van, capturing again the image of the dark-skinned king's tall frame right next to her.

When they reached the wall and emerged on the other side of the security door, Hitomi placed her hand against the metal structure. The lock settled back into place with a reassuring, soft click.

She finally felt at ease and began to fully process what all had happened out there. New questions formed. Questions she hadn't thought to ask before but which presented themselves as relevant for her reasoning.

"How did you get through it?" she asked.

Van's face was blank.

"The…rite of dragonslaying," Hitomi clarified. "How did you do it?"

Van's hand instinctively went to the handle of his sword, remembering the day. Slim chance he'd ever forget it. Specifically, he'd never forget how it'd felt to ram his sword into the dragon's belly and hit solid bone underneath. Of course, he'd been asked that question by press officials right before his coronation, but had he given them a thorough explanation?

No way. He hadn't wanted to talk about this with anyone. Not even Merle or Balgus.

Moreover, he detested interviews and only consented to give them if absolutely necessary. He hated the attention, but sometimes it got people off his back for a while. With practice, he'd become quite skilled at non-answers, but this time, with just Hitomi facing him, it was different.

Considering this for a moment, he gave in. "Fear, years of training, and my duty to Fanelia kept me going even when I wanted to run the other way."

"That's it?" Hitomi looked at him inquisitively.

Van shrugged while staring at a particular spot on the ground. He wasn't usually comfortable talking about his thoughts and feelings. "Well, yeah. That and you never know how strong you really are until being strong is the only choice you have."

Slap that quote on a magazine together with a picture of him, and you got yourself a story worth a Pulitzer.

Given the little adventure they'd just been through, how shaken she was, and the fact that he'd offended her earlier, Van considered saying something more. He wanted to make sure he didn't have to worry about her anymore after they parted ways shortly.

He blinked a few times and then reached for his shades, propping them onto the top of his head. The inextinguishable fire that were his eyes was now fixed on her, but his voice was gentle and the tension between them palpable.

Van's eyes grew remorseful. "Listen. I'm sorry you got dragged into my shenanigans today, and…all the times before too, but especially today. I never wanted to involve anyone, but there are some things I need to take care of for my own peace of mind."

This prompted a look of concern from Hitomi. She reached out and placed her own soft hand on the one he had still wrapped around the handle of his sword. "Please, whatever it is, don't… don't put yourself in danger."

She'd rendered him speechless for the moment, imploring him with those emerald orbs of hers. No. Not again with the compassion. He didn't want her to worry or- even worse- pity him. His safety didn't need to be any of her concern.

"Stop doing this! The last thing I need is for you to worry about me." The words spilled from his mouth thoughtlessly. "Let's just forget anything ever happened." It was probably better this way. And good thing she really didn't remember the steamy kiss she'd stolen from him at the Mystic Moon. It would make everything even more painful.

Hitomi retracted her arm as if electrocuted, then nervously fidgeted with both hands, just like that day at the coffee shop. It was a habit she just couldn't shake.

"Right. I should get home before Yukari calls the nearest guard post," Hitomi said hurriedly. Before Van could respond or either of them was forced to utter an awkward goodbye, she turned on her heels and was gone.

Van stood there for another minute, staring after her retreating form in the dim evening light. It was nearly dark by now. Just as dark as the thoughts that were sure to follow.

"What a fine young lady! Although a bit unrefined." Escaflowne deemed this as a most appropriate time to disregard the no-speak command from earlier. "If I may recommend, courtship should be ceased until further notice. It appears that your words have upset her."

"There will be no courtship." Van choked the handle of his sword and repositioned his sunglasses with the other hand. He then turned the other way and followed the back alleyways to the castle.

* * *

Dilandau crammed his fists deep into his pockets after exiting the Vione. It was one of his favorite evening hangout spots during the week. The quiet wine bar was close to the palace as well as the villa the Zaibach embassy staff occupied. It was a few side streets away from the fancy part of town and closer to where normal folks lived, so the chance of stumbling into a fellow stuck-up diplomat or one of their spoiled daughters was minimal.

While turning the cellphone in his pocket over and over, he brooded. He'd watched the video of the king and that woman a few times, thinking about how to most effectively use it. His allegiance to Zaibach, of course, dictated that he share it with his boss. Such evidence was worth its megabytes in gold for blackmailing purposes.

If only he didn't enjoy seeing Gain gripe about the lack of progress so much. It was the only thing he took more delight in than causing chaos.

His original intent with the stroll about town today had been to get away from Gain. Since day one, the guy had been a bag of flaming dogshit on the porch of his life. Despite that, he was bound to report sightings of interest like the video, especially when he was the only one privy to them.

Fucking fine then. Time to do it.

The cellphone vibrated in his pocket. It had done so a few times over the course of the night, but he couldn't be bothered to pick up or even check who was trying to reach him. Just when he was about to finally pull it out and flip it open, an extremely familiar woman passed him.

She passed him so fast he almost missed it. He turned, looking after her, then quickly started walking. It was her. Undoubtedly. The short hair. Not many women had short hair like that. Similarly built, too. Definitely the woman in the video! He wasn't sure why he was following her, but something told him it'd be useful to know where she lived.

And Dilandau didn't even have to chase her for long. She passed a small corner store, then jogged down the walkway of an older apartment building and entered it.

Location duly noted. Dilandau smirked. Time to report back to base. Fifteen minutes later, he entered the foyer of the villa and retrieved his cellphone from the jacket before tossing the garment onto the coat rack.

He hadn't even gotten around to slipping the cellphone into his pants pocket before somebody descended the steps soundly and pried the device from his hands. Dilandau came face to face with a tall, older man. Despite his age, he had a strong build and the brown mustache made him look even more stern.

Gain narrowed his eyes in annoyance. He squeezed Dilandau's wrist tightly and took the phone from him, flipping it open and shoving the screen into his face.

On the locked screen, it said, "7 Missed Calls".

"You know, when your phone does this ringing thing, it means I'm trying to talk to you. We have a problem."

Okay, so the guy had been looking for him. This much was clear now.

But the frosty welcome made Dilandau reconsider. Maybe he'd hold on to that video for some time longer. Just to spite him.

* * *

Hitomi made it home just in time for the encroaching twilight to darken the city's skyline. Just as soon as she closed the apartment door behind her, she heard Yukari's voice.

"Hitomi, is that you?" her friend asked from the living room.

"Yeah, I was out for a run."

"Must have been a long one. You were gone for almost three hours," Yukari commented while Hitomi was toeing off her running shoes. Dirt and grass had stained the mesh more than a normal run would.

Nobody, probably not even her best friend, would believe what she'd actually ended up doing. Not that she felt like giving anybody a play-by-play. Right now, she wasn't even sure what she'd say or what part of the story she'd focus on.

That she was now one of the very few people who'd been outside the wall without a damn good reason? That she'd gone there with no one else but the king of Fanelia himself? That they'd encountered a dragon and lived?

Would she mention that they'd argued like little children at first, but then, later on, he'd oozed bravery beyond measure, assuring her that her safety was his responsibility even after she'd idiotically decided to follow him out there?

"Yeah, I ran far," Hitomi answered vaguely. "I'll get in the shower right away. I'm pretty worn out."

"Heard that," Yukari agreed while Hitomi disappeared into her room to grab some clean clothes and a towel before making her way to the bathroom.

She took her time in the shower, rinsing off sweat and dirt and feeling the need to scrub twice as well as normal. She couldn't tell whether her nose was playing tricks on her or if she really smelled like scorch from exposure to the dragon's breath.

Whilst shampooing her hair, she remembered how close the king's head had been to hers, calmly whispering words of reassurance into her ear. It made her heart skip a few beats, but she immediately scolded herself for being an idiot and wanting to remember that particular detail.

It wasn't like it meant anything. He'd have done the same thing for anyone. He'd said it himself. He had a duty to protect Fanelia and her citizens. But then, his last few words came back to mind.

Now that she had time to think about it, the way he'd talked to her in the end had made it sound like he regretted having ever met her. She plucked his words apart one by one. It made sense, especially considering his condescending attitude about her willingness to care- to help others.

Hitomi left the bathroom clad in a pair of jammies. At least she was comfortable on the outside. Much less so on the inside where she still fought a wave of disappointment despite wanting to keep it real. What else did she think would have happened? For her and the king to become friends? Start hanging out casually?

Not in a million years. It was better for it to end this way. Then she wouldn't have to wonder or care about how he was doing. Ha! That's exactly what he wanted, right? That's right. She didn't care one bit.

When Hitomi came into view in the hallway, Yukari flashed a bright smile at her from the couch. "Hey, guess what!"

Hitomi stretched her arms while passing the couch and stopped near one of the empty sofa chairs next to Yukari. "What?" she asked lazily.

"Huge news!" Yukari waved one of her high-gloss magazines through the air. No doubt fresh off the press.,

"Oh, yeah?" Hitomi said only with mild interest. High society news wasn't of much concern to her but this time Yukari seemed even more excited than normal.

"Yep. Unbelievable! It's about the King and Princess Millerna," Yukari spoke with an ominous voice.

This made Hitomi's eyes open a bit wider. "What about them?" she asked, her stomach already twisting in sick foreboding.

"It wasn't supposed to be announced until Princess Millerna's birthday party at the palace in a few days. She didn't just come to visit. She came so the court could announce their betrothal. Hitomi, King Van and Princess Millerna are going to be married! Isn't this so cool? They are, like, the perfect couple!" Yukari squealed, full of excitement.

Hitomi inhaled through her nose. Towards the end, Yukari's words became fuzzy and almost inaudible. She slowly plunked down on the sofa chair.

Why was this so shocking to hear? Really, anybody should have seen it coming. It only made sense, but why did it cause Hitomi to feel so oddly deflated? She'd just decided not to care.

It's not like there was anything between them at all. She now knew that he didn't want to be compelled to care deeply about anything or anyone. They were basically strangers who just happened to have met a few times.

… _and kissed_. A small, annoying voice reminded her.

Hitomi's mind was reeling, and for some reason, this news pained her more than she could bear to contemplate. The web of thoughts she'd previously been working on untangling instantly knotted itself back together, further even, into an impossibly tight ball.

 **Tbc…**


	7. Act 1, Chapter 6 (pt1)

**A/N: It's been a while and I've had this chapter written for weeks but it was, once again, a monster so I cut it in half. As I am undergoing some major life changes in a few months (no I'm not pregnant), this story will suffer but I have every intention of finishing it. More info to come. For now, I hope this entertains you.**

 **[Edit 07/04/2019: Proof-read by OfSilverRaindrops. Thank you so much for your work!]**

 _King of Anything_

Act 1, Chapter 6, Part 1

 _In which Merle shrugs and Millerna suggests something._

Anybody seeing Hitomi this evening in the golden elevator together with Allen, dressed in a red chiffon cocktail dress, might ask themselves what was going on. And rightfully so—Hitomi was still in disbelief too. Why were they on the way to the palace again?

Ah, yes.

Two days ago, she'd received a message from Allen. Not to ask her out, but because Princess Millerna had personally requested her attendance this evening. The Fanelian royal family was hosting a banquet in honor of the princess' birthday. Of course, it would also be the perfect occasion to announce the big betrothal.

"You know, the two of us could go somewhere else together one of these days if you make up your mind," Allen said with a slight pout that immediately melted into a weak smile. He'd come to escort Hitomi to the palace.

Yeah, he'd asked Hitomi for a formal date before but she hadn't said yes- yet. And why not? She wasn't even sure why herself. Any woman in her right mind probably would but something was making her consider this way too carefully.

Allen offered her his arm as they walked across the courtyard with the mosaic in the middle together with more party guests. Hitomi felt like such a tourist, turning her head left and right to drink in the sight of the palace up close. She'd never been here- only seen it from the bottom of the stairway and in pictures.

Hitomi felt out of place. She wasn't part of the aristocrats of Gaia and neither did she work here. Even though Princess Millerna had been very kind to her, Hitomi was baffled to have received an invitation to this event. Surely, the princess had a ton of important friends in high places.

The security detail at the front entrance, all clad in Fanelian crimson, didn't check invitations. They probably remembered every single member of high society by face—naturally, and she was with Allen, so that checked out.

In the massive entrance hall, there was marble as far as the eye could see, and a red carpet covered the floor along the way. By the looks of it, it had likely been imported from Freid. The country in the south east was famous for exquisite goods such as fabrics, ceramics, and other artful wares of high value.

A lot of people obviously knew each other. Groups of guests were gathered here and there in the grand hall and all the way leading to the ballroom where the festivities were taking place. Everybody was so beautiful, dressed in expensive suits and gowns, that it made Hitomi feel inadequate. At least, she wouldn't stand out.

She was already a bit uncomfortable, unsure what to say if anybody asked her how she tied into the mass of rich folk. Was she supposed to say she was a friend of the princess? How did they know each other? Oh, from a club. It didn't sound convincing or important. And they'd only just met a week or so ago.

It was all a bit much and the overwhelming glitz got to her. She needed to take a minute and collect herself.

Bingo. The ladies' room.

"Hey Allen, I need to take a moment to touch up my make-up," Hitomi told him, pointing toward the door. "Why don't you go ahead to the ballroom? I'll find you in there."

"You sure?" Allen raised a brow in friendly question. "Wouldn't want to lose you in this shark tank."

Hitomi was thankful for his attempt to loosen up her obvious tension with a joke. "Positive."

"Very well," Allen nodded and continued on. The sight of his usual; blue suit and blonde hair was soon swallowed by the crowd.

Hitomi was stunned by the sheer size of the washroom. It was probably as big as their entire apartment. Expensive looking stuff everywhere: golden faucets, huge mirrors, fancy vanity tables and plush chairs, real towels and…pretty much the poshest ladies' room she'd ever been in. There was currently only one other woman.

And who but the birthday girl herself clad in a stunning, lavender hi-low gown which was no doubt custom made by some famous designer just for this occasion. Princess Millerna was in front of a full-length mirror, fluffing her wavy golden locks when she saw Hitomi in the background.

"Hitomi!"

The royal whirled around, excitement evident in her greeting. She closed in on Hitomi, grabbing both of her hands. "I'm so glad you could make it!" Her periwinkle eyes sparkled. Damn she was beautiful.

Hitomi was caught off guard by the overwhelming joy in Princess Millerna's greeting. Yes, they'd had a great conversation at the Mystic Moon, as far as she could recall, but she'd expected for this invitation to be no more than a cordial gesture.

Temporarily suspending some of her worries, Hitomi smiled. "I'm flattered to be invited considering that we've only met once before."

Millerna released her and waved her hand through the air for emphasis. "But of course!" Then added more quietly, "I don't recall having such a good conversation with anybody in quite a while. Foreign diplomats don't usually share my interest in medical topics. Especially not if it's something bloody."

Hitomi winced a bit. Right. There was that still too. "Speaking of medical stuff," Hitomi began. "This is a bit embarrassing but I'm afraid I don't remember much of what happened after we talked at the Mystic Moon. Which also reminds me that I need to thank you- for taking care of me when I was so completely out of it."

"Don't even mention it! There is no way I'd just leave you to the wolves. You were lucky Van and I noticed what was going on in time," Millerna's eyes twinkled a bit. "This reminds **me** of something exciting I want you to know about before the official toast this evening."

Hitomi's stomach turned upside down. Millerna was clearly stoked about the engagement and wanted to share that with her. A forced smile was all she could muster as a response. Just for once, the timing was perfect when the door opened behind them and three women came in. It spared Hitomi the awkwardness that was to come.

Millerna was cut off when the ladies acknowledged her and started chattering about how great the party was. Propriety, of course, dictated that she reply politely. Gone was the opportunity to have a private conversation.

Sighing in relief, Hitomi excused herself, mumbling that Allen would be looking for her.

"Alright, I'll catch you later," Millerna agreed. She seemed dissatisfied about the interruption but there was nothing to be done for now.

Millerna was so nice. Hitomi really did like the princess so that made it a bit weird with her being officially engaged to King Van as of later tonight. But it was cool. It wasn't like Hitomi had a reason to resent her for that. At least not one she was consciously aware of.

At this point, it felt like Millerna could be Hitomi's bigger sister. The blonde had perfect manners and, despite her playful notions, always seemed to know exactly what to say or do. That surely was expected from a royal. Just like appropriate behavior had probably been drilled into King Van since he was old enough to comprehend.

They'd make a stunning couple and, really, not a single soul on Gaea could oppose such a perfect union. And… and…letting go of something you never had was, apparently, way harder than Hitomi thought.

She lingered by the ballroom entrance, clutching the door with white knuckles before taking another step towards the bustling crowd inside. Modern music was playing, reminding her of the nightclub and many guests were already dancing in the middle of the room.

She gulped when she saw him. Yum. The king was, as per usual, frustratingly handsome with perfectly-combed ebony hair and dressed in a black suit embroidered with the Fanelian crest on the breast pocket. Pretty much the same way he always looked during official appearances or in pictures.

He'd also stand out anywhere with those striking, ruby eyes of his. It would be better if Hitomi stayed away from him. Far away. He was undeniably attractive and well-built, so her memory reminded her and Hitomi had to scold herself for being drawn to him for such a superficial reason. It made her no better than any of the women gushing over his image in those magazines.

But was that really all?

Hitomi observed him for another minute from the sanctuary of the hallway. He was wrapped in a cocoon of adulation. A group of men and women were with him. The women laughed coyly while the men boasted, no doubt, about something silly, trying to impress him or gain his favor.

Steeling her will, Hitomi attempted to shrink a few inches as she ducked inside the big ballroom, going the opposite direction and hugging the wall as much as she could without looking silly. Great. This was already going not excellent. She snuck around the side of the room to avoid being noticed.

It was so dumb. Hiding from him. Pining after a man she couldn't ever have. How she hated to even consider it. It wasn't even anything more than appreciating his good looks and the fact that she liked him as a person. Like an acquaintance you were slowly growing fond of because you'd met them a good number of times and had history with them.

Yeah, that was a perfectly good explanation.

* * *

Van was well educated in the matters of etiquette; he knew how to carry a conversation naturally even though he was bored out of his mind. he also knew that the counterpart of the current conversation was vying for his good graces. Luckily, so did Millerna.

She was currently on her way over to the group of people, smiling brightly when she gracefully wedged herself in between him and one of the younger aristocrats hailing from Caesario. The guy had been talking his ear off about seeing a pack of dragons a few days ago from up in the air when arriving.

He'd been busy describing the beasts, arms swinging in wild gestures for embellishment. The ladies were impressed. As for Van, not so much. Yeah, he knew exactly what a dragon looked like and he didn't particularly enjoy hearing others talk about how dangerous they were and how Gaea needed to be cleansed of their presence. Fear-mongering wasn't wise.

Van, as diplomatically as possible said, "What you are forgetting is -that the whole world depends on Fanelia's drag energists as a source for power. We'd be smack dab in the middle of the dark ages again without dragons, so it is necessary to have them around."

Everybody looked to Van. The guy who'd spoken before was only mildly embarrassed by having been called out. The few drinks he'd already had were numbing his sense of propriety.

"Sorry to interrupt this conversation, but I need to borrow the king," Millerna feigned an apology. "We have something important to discuss."

The others in the group exchanged eager, knowing looks and readily agreed to part with Van. Who'd deny the princess, after all?

"Thanks. I owe you one," Van nodded while offering her his arm.

They walked away several steps, already looking like they were in deep conversation.

"I got you fam," Millerna answered her childhood friend a lot more casually than she would have if others were listening. "Let's grab some appetizers and a drink."

Near the refreshments, the most brightly clothed person in the ballroom joined them shortly after. Merle complemented Millerna fabulously in a mint green cocktail dress which, in combination with her hair, made her look like a cone of cotton candy.

"This is the least stuffy party we've ever had. I can't wait for Millerna to move in!" Merle gave her soon-to-be sister-in-law a quick side hug.

"Merle, calm down." Van was raining on her one-girl parade in a typical older brother fashion, trying to rein her in.

"Oh come on. Everybody already knows. It's only a matter of putting it out there officially." Merle crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, briefly looking five-years-old again. "But whatever. I suppose I can wait another hour." She then shrugged, popped some finger-food in her mouth and grabbed a glass of sparkly water from a passing waiter.

Merle downed her drink in one go and placed it right back on the tray. "Till then, I'll be right over there, dancing my heart out with my friends." She pointed to the side of the dancefloor where a group of stuck-up looking rich kids was chatting casually. "Ooooh wait. Even better. I'll ask Balgus to dance. He has no rhythm, so forcing him to dance will be perfect payback for giving the governesses a hint as to where one of my secret gum stashes is."

Just like that, she was gone again. While Van's eyes followed her sister, they came upon a face he'd not expected to see here tonight. She was far in the back by a wall but it was undeniably her. No way. How did she get here? How'd she…

"Millerna, did you make any last-minute additions to the guest list?"

The blonde tapped her chin as if deep in thought. "You know, I may have added a few people. Anybody in particular catching your eye?" When she followed Van's gaze, she saw Hitomi's short mop of honey blonde hair immediately in the distance.

Van was looking at Millerna again. "No. Just wondering."

He couldn't help himself when his gaze flickered back over to Hitomi once more. It was just a fleeting glimpse, but a very telling one.

Millerna was hiding a grin of amusement behind a smile of apology. "I know you are more interested in her than you were letting on at the Mystic Moon, so I thought I'd invite her."

Van pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why on Gaea would you do that?"

His friend shrugged. "Because I thought I was doing you a favor. I tried to talk to her earlier but then we got interrupted."

"Millerna, don't. I know what you're up to and it's a bad idea," Van said in a serious tone.

"Well then, maybe you'd like to tell her instead of me?" Millerna suggested.

Van's face twisted in irritation. "I'll think about it."

* * *

Hitomi lingered by the side of the dancefloor while Allen made a quick round, checking up on his crew. She didn't strike up any conversations with other guests and likewise, nobody attempted to talk to her. It was a relief and slightly unnerving at the same time. Of course, she didn't have any connections to these people.

Allen wasn't required to stay with her but being that she knew nobody else here, he had taken it upon himself to keep her company. With a personal agenda, naturally. Hitomi didn't really mind. He wasn't pushy and had only brought it up once this evening- so far. She had to admit that she liked the attention.

At least, Hitomi mused, for now she could hold on to this glass of wine she'd decided to get for herself at the bar. The sweet liquid, no doubt poured from a bottle bearing a sizeable price tag, was a good consolation for the time being.

The hair on the back of her neck stood up when she felt somebody approaching her. Sure enough, that somebody touched her shoulder a second after.

"Hiding all the way over here?"

Hitomi cocked her head after she turned around. "I'm not hiding. I just feel more comfortable on the sidelines."

Allen smiled charmingly. "Ah yes, beautiful things rarely ask for attention. If you prefer, we can stay here, but I do hope you'll dance with me eventually."

It made Hitomi chuckle.

And dance they did after another glass of wine. The mild influx of alcohol helped Hitomi relax tremendously. She didn't have to think so much anymore about how she didn't belong here. Being with Allen made her feel more comfortable.

At least by his side, she looked like her presence was justified. Even though the princess had personally asked for her presence, nobody else knew that. Now that she was more immersed in this function, she could maybe even enjoy it.

 _Oh, keep it real._

Surrounded by so much beauty, both in the ambiance and people, Hitomi felt like she was in a fairy tale. Was this why Yukari liked to follow high society news so much? Because it was like escaping normal life for a bit?

Hitomi began to wonder whether Allen would stay with Millerna as her head of security or be transferred back to Asturia after the wedding. Given that he was employed by the Asturian royal family, it was no great leap of logic to assume that he'd return home to Palas to resume his duties there, possibly leading another security detail. Maybe even for Princess Eries.

"You finally look like you're enjoying yourself. Liking the royal glam more than anticipated?" Allen pre-empted an explanation, teasing her in a friendly way.

Hitomi laughed weakly, having been caught contemplating. Luckily he didn't realize that her mind was already way ahead of him. "Oh. No-no that's not it," she smiled sheepishly. She absolutely could not tell him that she was already wondering where he'd be in the future and that her decisions may somehow end up coinciding with that."I'm just surprised it's less stiff than anticipated."

No lie. These people knew how to party. Everything just had a higher price tag. There was an open bar and a buffet on the side but servers weaved through the crowd with trays of snacks and drinks to make sure everybody was taken care of.

Huge flower bouquets and other tasteful decorations gave the already glamorous ballroom a festive flair. One side wall was entirely made from glass and offered a stunning view of Fanelia below. Far, far in the distance, one could even make out the wall.

Hitomi wished she could climb to the rooftop to get an even better view. The only other time she could see Fanelia from high up was on the way in or out of the country via levi jet.

"You know, if we did start dating, you'd see that high society really isn't all the drama those trashy magazines make it out to be," Allen dropped a hint again.

Hitomi laughed. He was probably right; he would know, and she really didn't have a good explanation for why she wasn't jumping at the chance. "I'll think about it. I promise."

"Let's get something else to drink. I'm parched," Allen suggested. Ever the true gentleman, he quickly changed the topic so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

Bless him.

While they lingered by the dancefloor to catch their breath, Allen felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Excuse me."

Allen smiled brilliantly when he saw who it was. "Your majesty," he greeted Van, gently placing his hand on Hitomi's lower back as they both turned toward the dark-haired man.

"May I borrow Hitomi for a dance?" the king asked politely.

Hitomi grew rigid inside. Hell no. She threw a desperate glance at Allen.

Her escort looked surprised at the request but he didn't protest. "I'm sure Hitomi would be delighted!"

 **No, she wouldn't be!**

"Would she?" Van asked Hitomi.

 **No!**

"…..okay," Hitomi said helplessly.

The king didn't look much at Allen. Instead, his eyes were focused on Hitomi, who felt like a tribute being offered to entertain a dragon. Hadn't she just recently decided that she liked how Allen never appeared jealous or possessive? She may have just changed her mind about that.

She'd prefer, right about now, that he told the king to beat it—that he couldn't have her. Yes, because her dance card was full for the rest of the evening.

Like on autopilot, Hitomi extended her hand and placed it into Van's, captivated by his ruby gaze. He spared Allen a quick nod and led Hitomi into the middle of the crowd on the dance floor. People parted willingly to let the king pass and women skewered her with envious looks.

The king wrapped his right arm around her narrow waist while his left hand cradled her right one. Hitomi was at a loss. On the outside, she was stiff as a board, her body rigid and unsure so close to his, but on the inside, she was a mushy mess. Their hike in the woods and how he'd gotten her through the dragon encounter was suddenly right at the front of her mind again.

She couldn't deny that she reveled in his nearness now. There was something about it that made Hitomi feel safe, and it was way different than being near Allen. It was much simpler, rawer, more natural. Maybe it was because she knew that he'd fought a dragon and lived which invoked a sense of safety. An instinctual, female desire to be close to a skilled fighter. A sad, primitive longing.

As they moved together in the rhythm of the music, Hitomi could see people peering at them from afar, not letting her forget for a moment who she was dancing with. Not that she'd been in danger of forgetting. King Van also was an excellent dancer. It was probably one of the many things he'd been tutored in.

Now, what prompted him to want her close to him this evening? Running away from somebody again? Hadn't he made it clear that they were done bumping into each other? That he'd rather forget about everything that'd happened between them already? Was this an attempt at being cordial or was he trying to confuse her on purpose- playing some dumb game just because he could?

Although she didn't think he'd purposely mess with her, there was a bit of wariness in her eyes. Maybe disbelief, given the circumstances. She turned her head away a bit so that her stare would be less blatant.

"Didn't you tell me at the club that you don't dance?" she asked finally.

"What I meant was that I don't dance in places like that night club," Van's voice smoothly carried across the narrow space between them.

Hitomi pursed her lips.

* * *

"What keeps you from dancing?"

Dilandau looked over his shoulder to see who'd snuck up on him so rudely. By the voice, he could already tell. The blonde's face was adorned with an ever-present cheerful smile. How he hated it.

Her long-sleeved sheath dress was made entirely of ivory lace and went all the way to her knees. Innocence personified, at least on the outside but Dilandau knew better. Still waters were deep and he'd so far only dipped his toe into that one.

"Slothfulness," he answered indifferently and turned his head back around to take a sip of wine from his glass. The medical tape covering his right cheek made emoting feel weird.

Celena appeared beside him despite Dilandau's blatant disinterest. "King Van has been looking a bit gloomy so I was going to ask him for a dance."

"That so?" Dilandau asked, the cameo of patient interest. Not that he really cared.

Celena giggled. "Yeah but now he's found a different dance partner."

"Sounds like he dodged a bullet there." Dilandau's voice dripped with mockery while he swished the wine in his glass in a circular motion.

Why was she telling him that anyway? Did he look like he gave a rip? He was beginning to resent her for talking to him so much. Hell, was her brain permanently wired to broadcast or something?

"Would you dance with me?"

He almost choked on a mouthful of port. Oh no she hadn't really just asked him that, had she? One thing was for certain: Dilandau Albatou did not dance. Of course, he could. He'd learned. But no. Decisively- no.

One of her small hands gently touched his shoulder. "Please?"

Dilandau stiffened, his throat briefly constricted by shock. He remembered what she'd done to him not long ago. Heck, she could probably make him dance like a sock puppet if she wanted to, no matter what he said.

Setting the wine glass down a bit too hastily, some of the liquid sloshed out, staining the white tablecloth.

"Fine," Dilandau agreed, gritting his teeth.

He was just doing it to get her off his back. To make sure she wasn't going to use any of her dirty tricks on him. Not because he wanted to. Let that be known.

The girl was patiently waiting for him to stand and button up his burgundy suit jacket. Her anticipatory smile reached all the way to her ice blue eyes.

Why did she even bother? Dilandau pondered this while the blonde took his hand and pulled him along to the side of the dancefloor. Certainly, it wasn't because she liked him. He'd made absolutely no effort to be liked by her. He didn't want her to like him. He didn't want anybody to like him, really.

While they walked, he was staring at the back of her neck. Some wavy, short locks along her hairline looked especially soft at the nape. The zipper of the dress ended only a few inches below that spot and the short collar in between was held together by a single pearl button.

He wondered if he could possibly sneak his fingers up high enough to touch her there while they were dancing.

Probably not, but it was a weirdly enticing view. He didn't usually have this problem. If he wanted to touch a woman, he found one he could pay. None of them were ever interesting enough to waste much time thinking about.

Huffing silently in irritation, Dilandau placed his arm around her and pulled her close. At the very least, he wanted to get a bit of enjoyment out of this in some way. He couldn't lie about the fact that Celena was attractive and even he enjoyed the feel of a female body snug against his.

It was a waltz of some sort, which gave them the opportunity to talk a bit since the pace allowed it.

"You don't seem to be uber excited to be here. What's got you down today?" she asked.

Her tone was soothing but amused and it pissed him off.

"I just don't care for functions like this. What's it to you?" Dilandau answered, irritated.

Celena shrugged as much as their position allowed. "Just curious. Why are you here then?"

"I'm representing Zaibach tonight."

"Ah. What's Ambassador Gain up to on such an important evening that he decided to send a stand-in?"

"The hell if I know. He's probably busy fertilizing his backup mustache," Dilandau stated.

Celena laughed heartily.

When Dilandau's gaze passed Van and his dance partner just a few moments later, he stared, following them with his eyes. Craning his neck above Celena, he turned his head as far as he could without making a fool of himself. What the blazes? It was _her_. That woman again.

How'd she get here?

Most importantly, why was she dancing with the king like they were close friends or something? Wasn't he supposed to be engaged as of later tonight? Dilandau'd never seen her before that night at the club, so he'd assumed she was just a random stranger. It appeared there was more to her.

Was the royal bastard already fixing to start an affair before the engagement with the Asturian princess was officially announced? Personally, he didn't care. It just showed again how fallible even the oh-so-dutiful king was. In fact, this gave him a splendid idea for some entertainment!

* * *

Van hadn't said anything else. They were just dancing but what was the point of it? They weren't friends. Acquaintances at the most. Halfway through the waltz, Hitomi spoke up again. "Why me?"

Van looked a bit surprised. "Why not you?"

"Maybe, because I'm not your betrothed?" Hitomi answered heatedly.

The king averted his gaze. Yeah, that's right. She already knew. Heck, everybody probably knew already. Just because she wasn't as informed as Yukari or others who followed high society news didn't mean she was ignorant.

Hitomi swallowed the lump rising in her throat. Not having brought it up until now at least had given the illusion that she didn't care. Or, at least that it didn't somehow affect her personally. Now that façade was threatening to crumble.

"Congratulations. Princess Millerna is awesome and will make a lovely queen," Hitomi forced out with the ghost of a smile on her face. She'd saved it until the music slowly began to fade and detached herself immediately when it stopped.

A nod of resignation- nothing else. That's what she thought. Not that he owed Hitomi an explanation, she had to ruefully admit. He didn't owe her shit.

Likewise, Van had come to the decision to remain silent about Millerna and himself. It was just better this way. Simpler for everybody.

Hitomi couldn't go back to Allen right now. She was too riled up inside- too confused about what she was feeling. She didn't want to calm down. She preferred anger at the moment, and almost savored it. The uncertainty of her emotions underneath was too confusing. Anger was refreshing and much easier to fathom.

Her dramatic exit was timed perfectly. In the distance, she could hear a loud voice calling attention to the Princess and the King in preparation for making the toast and announcement everybody knew was coming.

All hail the future Queen of Fanelia, and happy fucking birthday.

She didn't want to hear it. There was no reason to stay around.

Hitomi rushed away, practically storming down a few deserted hallways until she had no idea where she was. Only when she found herself out of earshot did she slow down. Some fresh air would be great right about now. She didn't know whether there was some sort of balcony close by. Even a window would do at this point.

Rounding two corners and turning left proved her right. There was a window at the end of the hallway, except somebody was already occupying the real estate in front of it.

A tall guy in a burgundy suit and silver hair was standing beside it, leisurely lighting up a cigarette. It was pretty clear that smoking in the palace was not allowed. Hitomi couldn't find it in herself to be bothered by that. Why should she care if he fumed up the king's crib? It served Van right, because…ugh!

"Well, hello there," the stranger greeted her after taking a long drag from his smoke, then exhaled it in the general direction of the open window. He wasn't making a huge effort to aim well. He also had some medical tape on one cheek which prevented him from moving the right side of his face.

Why did a fancily dressed guy like him have a wound right in his face?

Hitomi instantly felt weird in his presence, but she attributed it to her current mental state. Just because he looked like a bit of a bad boy didn't mean she needed to be scared. They were in the royal palace, after all, and not some dark alley.

She smiled lightly. "Hi. Mind if I hang out here for a bit? I need some fresh air."

Dilandau was leaning against the windowsill, speaking in a taunting voice, legs crossed and face adorned with a condescending smirk. "I sure don't. But wouldn't you much rather be in the ballroom, listening to a certain announcement?"

He was testing the waters, trying to see how much she cared. If she showed jealousy, it would only confirm Dilandau's suspicions about a possible affair.

Hitomi crossed her arms while breathing in fresh, warm Fanelian air from outside. "I don't really care about that."

The silver-haired guy raised a brow, "Oh? I saw you dancing with the king earlier and assumed you were friends."

Great. This guy remembered seeing her with him and that was already more attention than she wanted. "I wouldn't say that. We've met a few times, but we aren't friends." What she'd told him was pretty vague, but hopefully served as a good enough explanation.

"Well, I suppose that's good then, because if the king saw you talking to me he'd be pissed. He hates me," Dilandau explained, amusement in his voice.

Hitomi was surprised to hear that. "How so?" Why would the king outright hate somebody who was invited to this event?

"Oh, many reasons. On top of it all, let's say I could ruin his whole evening," Dilandau drawled. "But he has no idea about that." She was walking right into his trap. It should prove to be entertaining.

"Want to know why?" he asked.

Hitomi was hesitant- unsure. Suspicious. But also curious. "Hit me with your best shot," she responded.

"Check this out," the guy said and fished a cell phone out of his pocket.

When the screen lit up and he showed her a short video clip, Hitomi's chest constricted with shock, as if she'd been hit with an arrow smack dab in the center.

Bullseye.

Dilandau savored her frozen expression, but his spiel wasn't over. "Crazy, huh? She has similar hair to yours. What a coincidence."

"Totally," Hitomi muttered quietly, her heart stuttering in her chest.

"If the people of Fanelia knew that their precious Dragon King was out there, getting it on with some random woman in a club, Asturia would probably think twice about that marriage," her new acquaintance ranted.

"Absolutely. I think…I've had enough fresh air for now," Hitomi said quietly. It didn't compute. Not right away. What she'd seen confused the hell out of her though. The video showed King Van and a girl that looked a lot like her, but she couldn't recall anything of the sort happening.

Surely, she'd remember if she'd kissed the king of Fanelia- again. Unless it'd happened while she was drugged. Which was entirely possible because there was still a period of time she could not account for. Which also meant he'd lied to her that day at the clinic when she'd asked him if she'd done anything weird.

Hell. Weird didn't even cover it. More like obnoxious! If she'd done this while under the influence, there was no telling just how much she'd embarrassed herself before and after that kiss.

Hitomi was glad to have worn a knee-length dress per Yukari's suggestion. It made it easier to get away as fast as she could and out of this guy's sight with as much dignity as she could muster.

Before he realized it was really her in that video.

"Well, that was fun for a whole five ass minutes." Dilandau shrugged, flipping the butt of the cigarette out of the open window. He'd hoped for more. He'd hoped she'd freak out. Did she not remember because of the Intensified Luck? Was she such a lightweight that only one small dose of the drug would so utterly debilitate her?

Pathetic.

 **Tbc…**


	8. Act 1, Chapter 6 (pt 2)

**[Edited to pay proper respects to my beta, OfSilverRaindrops who made the best out of my writing with her suggestions and corrections. Thank you so much! 07/31/19]**

 _King of Anything_

Act 1, Chapter 6, Part 2

 _In which we briefly read about Gain's mustache again._

A sensation of panic overcame Hitomi. Her chest started to feel tight, and she suddenly felt like she was breathing through a cocktail straw. Then, nausea overcame her.

All of this just when she thought it couldn't get any worse. But then again, the king had told her not to worry at the clinic, that she hadn't done anything weird. She preferred to latch onto that blatant little bit of illogic even in the face of hard proof.

She decided to hide in a more dimly-lit hallway, hoping to calm herself. Hitomi hugged her arms close, mumbling some mild obscenities under her breath before her ears perked. Somebody was about to pass her, and she really didn't want to be seen hanging out by herself in a dodgy, dark corner. She wanted to be asked if she was okay least of all.

There was a polished, heavy oak door within reach, so she quickly pushed down on the handle and opened it far enough to slip into the room behind it. When the door closed behind her, her shoulders slumped in relief.

After a solid minute of staring at her feet, she finally took the time to check out where she'd ended up.

 _Woah, cool._

The overwhelming visual momentarily overrode Hitomi's other struggles. To her right, a large wood fireplace cast light upon the front half of what looked like a library. Bookshelves were recessed into the stone walls, and more free-standing wooden frames were positioned at angles to create short bays, blocking the other half of the room from sight.

There was an important-looking old desk near the fireplace, but most of the surface was covered in books. A few paintings, some probably centuries old and worth a fortune, decorated the walls of these areas, which were paneled in lacquered wood. One of them showed what must have been an older version of Escaflowne.

The robot's frame was plated in full metal samurai armor with a blood-red cape billowing behind him as he held his sword ready to strike an opponent. The receptacle for the drag energist glowed an eerie purple, and Hitomi briefly wondered how someone had been able to capture this particular detail so well.

Despite the warning bells going off in her head, she couldn't make herself leave. Hitomi walked in between a row of bookshelves, her hand tracing the spines of new and old tomes. A ladder with flat rungs was fastened to a guide rail near the top. She wondered what kind of books were up there. What had the last person in here been trying to find?

Moving away from the door, Hitomi carefully walked across the room as she made her observations.

Hitomi'd never seen such an extensive library. In these modern times, a lot of reading material was already available in a digital format. Many people preferred this to lugging around actual printed versions of heavy books. This was a treasure room!

Curiosity exceeding caution, she began to climb the sturdy ladder. About midway up, she stopped and skimmed some of the titles on gold-inscribed leather bindings. Mostly history books. Not overly exciting. Glancing up, more not so thrilling stuff about ancestry. Maybe that's why those were up even higher. Not exactly something one would read for entertainment.

She casually turned around and checked on the volumes directly across from her. Now here was something that caught Hitomi's eyes. She stretched her arm and barely caught her object of interest with two fingers, fishing it out from the snug embrace of its neighbors.

Leaning against the ladder with one hip, she gingerly opened the book and skimmed a few lines. It was old and a bit dusty, but the pages were in pristine shape. She wasn't surprised about that because…

Suddenly, the door opened and closed with confident force, like whoever had entered belonged here. Shit. Hitomi closed the book and held it in both hands, quiet as a mouse. Some rustling indicated that the person was removing a layer of clothing. They were clearly here to stay.

It wasn't like she didn't already know who it was. Because of course. While he was busy, likely over by that desk, Hitomi was looking for a convenient place to deposit the book back where it'd come from, but there wasn't one. If she had to stay up here until he left, wait him out to avoid him, she at least wanted to put it down.

Glancing over to the tome's original home, Hitomi rolled her eyes. Fine. Stretching far to reach, she held onto the ladder with her other hand and wedged one corner back into the opening. That's how far her fingers were able to push it. One eye twitching in irritation, Hitomi gave it a hefty nudge with the flick of her wrist.

Nope.

 _Damn you, gravity._

The book thumped loudly when it hit the ground and she winced. Closing both eyes, Hitomi thought that perhaps if she couldn't see him, he couldn't see her either. Maybe she was high up enough to disappear into thin air.

"What the hell?" Van's dry voice cut through the relative silence.

Hitomi opened her eyes, sighing in resignation. Clearly, her ploy hadn't worked. She was mad at herself, to say the least. She'd made such a grand exit from the dance floor only to be caught red-handed snooping around in parts of the castle she had no business being in.

"Your majesty," Hitomi forced out the words, equally embarrassed and annoyed.

The king rolled his eyes a bit as he looked up to her. "You know what, just call me Van already."

If he was surprised to see her again so soon, and here of all places, he didn't show it. He'd removed his jacket and gotten rid of the tie, as well as undone the first two buttons of his dress shirt. Did he really need to do that? Because it reminded Hitomi of what he looked like without a shirt on altogether.

That last thought nearly made her lose her footing.

While she slowly descended the ladder, Van asked, "What are you doing here anyway?"

Hitomi didn't go all the way down. She stopped two rungs off the ground and turned around to be eye level with him, bracing a hand on the ladder behind her for support. "Nothing," she said, then realized how lame of an answer that was. "Reading," she quickly amended.

Van's reaction showed clear disbelief. "Right. What else."

"What are you doing here?" Hitomi asked him in return.

The king looked mildly irritated. "I'm the last person who needs an excuse to be here. This is my study after all."

She didn't need to know that he had left the ballroom because he needed a massive breather. After all, the engagement to Princess Millerna had just officially been announced.

His eyes found the book on the floor. He was about to pick it up, but before he could get to it, somebody knocked on the door. The king took a step closer, invading Hitomi's personal space to get as far behind the bookshelf as possible. With a finger pressed against his lips, he motioned for her to be quiet.

Hitomi held her breath.

The door opened, probably only a crack, and someone inquired, "Your majesty? Are you in here?"

Crap. People were already looking for him. He'd endured the congratulatory horde for a while, but enough was enough. He just wanted a few minutes to himself.

Hitomi breathed in slowly and quietly, her head beginning to swim. His scent—petrichor and charred wood. The video—his mesmerizing eyes. In a flash, she finally remembered everything. His damn scent was what had started it all- had drawn her to him like a moth to a flame. The drugs had only caused her to disregard propriety and throw her dignity to the wind.

The door closed again when there was no answer. Van's shoulders relaxed, and Hitomi lowered her head to avoid facing him. He knew exactly what she'd done, that she didn't remember, and had never brought it up. Why though? Not that it really mattered. She felt terrible about her behavior, drug-impaired state notwithstanding.

For the sake of her own peace of mind, clearing the air would probably be best. Especially considering that his nearness and scent were becoming overwhelming. Okay, so the simple part of her female brain was madly attracted to him.

Nothing she should be embarrassed for in a biological sense. A biochemical reaction in her brain was letting her know that she wanted him. But that didn't mean her rational side was easily swayed. This was insane, after all.

She quickly and quietly said, "I'm sorry."

Van furrowed his brow in question. "For…waltzing into my personal study? Look, it's not that big of a-"

"-kissing you. At the Mystic Moon. I didn't know what I was doing."

Van frowned. So, she somehow remembered. He'd really hoped she never would to spare them both more awkwardness. "You don't need to apologize. It was nothing," he calmly assured her, hoping to salvage what was possible.

Ouch.

That statement caused something to pang in Hitomi's chest like cold lightning. Nothing? **Nothing?** Was something as intimate as a kiss really nothing to him? What if, for some ludicrous reason, they'd done it on purpose? It would have probably still been meaningless to a guy who could kiss a different woman every night if he wanted to.

Okay then.

Muffled voices were audible through the heavy door. They were looking for him still. Hitomi could feel him stiffening.

"If you're trying to hide, why not kiss me again? It worked before," she suggested testily, taking refuge in what was beginning to be a sick joke to her.

His voice was harsh with confusion when he whispered back, "You apologize for what you did at the Mystic Moon, and then go on to highlight the fact that **I** kissed you without permission instead! You make no sense!"

Hitomi jerked her head around to finally look him in the eye again. The air crackled between them.

"You call that a kiss? I'd call it embarrassing," she quipped irrationally, not sure where that had come from.

"You think you were any better?" Van shot back. He wouldn't let her get away with insulting him so easily and got precisely the response he sought: namely a swift, fierce glare.

"What are you saying? That I kiss badly?" Hitomi immediately got hung up on that implication. When she realized she was reacting exactly the way he wanted her to, it only fueled her annoyance more.

Van pinned her with his stare, a flicker of amusement visible in those rubies that didn't necessitate an answer.

The athlete- the competitor -in Hitomi awoke. This sure seemed like a challenge. She glared at him in stalwart silence for a moment.

She was suddenly feeling bold. Maybe it was the wine. The bizarreness of the whole situation made her a bit reckless. "Why don't we find out who is worse?"

That flicker in his eyes blazed into flame.

Hitomi waited, peering at him from beneath her lashes, her emerald gaze a blatant challenge. The silence stretched until…

Van gripped one of her shoulders, a sign he accepted her challenge but was also giving her a chance to back out. Was she serious, or did she just want to test if he could take what he'd dished out? Hitomi shivered under his touch while the blaze in his eyes singed her with its intensity.

"Fine," he said,

"Fine," she echoed.

Hitomi braced both of her hands against his chest in a business-like way, showing him that she was, indeed, serious. His body was warm under her palms and her fingers tingled. If the shirt had been undone any further, she'd be touching smooth, dark skin instead.

The air around them abruptly changed, became warm and humid while the tension built between them. All notions of teasing had vanished, and the mood was entirely different- a thousand times more serious.

Hitomi's feet shifted uncomfortably on the flat rungs of the slanted ladder. Van caught on to that and brought himself closer, wrapping his free arm low around her back. The hand on her shoulder went down to her waist and cradled it for support.

Their hearts thrummed in unison as Van lifted Hitomi off of her perch and very deliberately took his time setting her down, recreating a height difference between them. The skirt of the chiffon dress caught between them and bunched around her waist a bit as he lowered her. Van could feel her legs rubbing against the fabric of his pants.

There was no room left between them, and she lacked the willpower to change her mind, even if she wanted to. Not that she did. Hitomi's head was inclined, her eyes fixed on the target, his lips, like someone hypnotized.

A tiny muscle twitched in his jawline. Then Van leaned in. The first brush of his lips was careful yet challenging, much like Hitomi felt.

Her mouth was warm and soft, tasting a bit of wine, but this time Van was certain it didn't impair her judgment. His lips passed over hers twice in a languid caress, nipping hers while the fire on the other side of the room crackled, timed perfectly to dramatize the moment.

Hitomi felt a jolt in her chest again, but this time it wasn't cold. It was like hot electricity shooting all the way into her fingers, toes, and between her legs. It was the feeling of euphoria- a spike of dopamine made even more intense by prolonged anticipation and the proximity of their bodies.

Hitomi responded timidly at first, matching his pace, but the friction their actions created sent every nerve ending on her lips reeling. It felt too damn good to not urge him on. He was really, really good at this, and so was she judging by his reaction. And together- together they were sublime.

He was still being gentle, almost too careful, and Hitomi wished he wasn't being. Her mind was impatient, already going places beyond the here and now. What else they could be doing was front and center in her imagination. Her mind fabricated flashes of skin, fingers threading themselves through ebony hair, and fewer layers of clothing.

How stupid to be careless like this, but at least Hitomi wasn't the one who was engaged. And why shouldn't she enjoy herself when she had the opportunity? Especially because he'd agreed. Half the women in Fanelia would die for the chance to be in her shoes right now.

Was she being selfish? Yes, but with the firm intention of accepting the consequences of her actions. Luckily, there wouldn't be any, because she knew exactly where this would go. No where. Except that her mind couldn't stop painting vivid pictures of them together in an increasingly intimate scenario.

Through all the exciting sensations, Van couldn't help but notice a faint smell of cigarette smoke clinging to her dress. Only he didn't care to waste a second thinking about why. She was right here, after all, and tasting delicious. He pulled back to catch a glimpse at Hitomi's reaction.

Gone was the spiteful expression. Her eyes were half closed and a blush had crept across her cheeks. She looked dreamy, soft, and most importantly: she'd asked for it this time. Indeed, they were doing this in mutual consent.

And that's what excited Van the most. She really wanted this—him. Right before he leaned in again, he stopped. As if there was any chance of turning back. It was already way too late. Right now, nothing else in the entire world mattered to him.

She was torturously soft with her mouth, so sweet and seeking against his. The feel of it made him ache for much, much more. He resisted the urge to trail his lips down the side of her neck, to let his hands roam wherever they desired to go. He wished that he'd unfastened one or two more buttons on his shirt earlier so that her palms could touch the bare skin of his chest.

Parting again with their mouths hovering only a hair-width apart, they savored each other's nearness, the intimacy of the moment. Hitomi's chest rose and fell as she caught her breath. More. Van wanted to feel more of this- of her. It was all he could think about.

The king was mesmerized by the sight before him. One of his hands came up and the back of his knuckles gently traced Hitomi's cheek, caressing her flushed skin more tenderly than their bargain called for.

That's what broke the spell for her. Remembering suddenly that she was angry with him, she firmly pushed against his chest. Van's hands fell away without contest. Hitomi hurried to move away as far as the narrow space allowed. Her legs wobbled a bit as she grasped the bookshelf next to her for support.

They both nearly jumped out of their skins when the door opened abruptly. When she heard Van's name out of Princess Millerna's mouth, Hitomi's face crumpled in misery. She pressed a hand to her lips and stifled a small noise of both frustration and surprise.

It wasn't that she resented the Asturian princess, but her timing was just…beyond terrible. The intensity of her emotions which had built up in the last few minutes, the sudden interruption, and everything from the last few days was now becoming unbearable.

Millerna brightened up the whole room with her presence, and the steam between Van and Hitomi evaporated immediately. Hitomi couldn't bear to look at the princess, suddenly ashamed for what she'd done to this woman who'd been nothing but nice to her. Her gut twisted sickly at that thought.

"There you are," Millerna said to Van as she spotted him, then noticed the third person. "Oh, Hitomi! Did I interrupt something?"

She sounded way more amused than upset. Not how a woman normally reacted after having caught her future husband in a potentially compromising situation. That piqued Hitomi's interest. Why was Millerna not suspicious or upset?

Van shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his pants. He looked unfazed by his future queen's sudden appearance.

"Mi-Millerna…," Hitomi said weakly, not able to contain herself. Her bad conscience was already eclipsing the shame she felt in the face of the princess' kindness. Didn't she know that she was about to marry someone who had absolutely no qualms about cheating?

"Oh, save yourself the trouble." With a twinkle in her eyes, Millerna raised a hand to stop what was no doubt going to be a very clumsy explanation. "There is no need to pretend."

Hitomi's chest deflated in utter confusion. "Wh-?"

"I don't think this is a good idea," Van spoke calmly, although his voice was noticeably rougher than normal.

Millerna smiled. "Nonsense. I trust her." Turning to Hitomi, she eagerly told her, well, everything. "Our engagement is nothing more than a political move arranged by Van's council and my father. But we haven't got the slightest intention of going through with it. Nobody knows this but us."

Hitomi looked back and forth between Van and Millerna in disbelief.

"My sister, Eries, is supposed to inherit the Asturian throne since the marriage with Folken never happened." Millerna looked toward Van apologetically. "Thing is, she doesn't want to rule. Likewise, I don't like the idea of being a political pawn. We've made different arrangements. Eries will abdicate, thus creating a situation where our father has no other choice but to pass the throne directly to me. I will rule as Queen of Asturia. Alone." Millerna braced her hands on her hips, awaiting Hitomi's reaction.

"I was going to tell you this earlier, but there wasn't a good opportunity," Millerna added.

Hitomi was baffled. She hadn't in the least anticipated something like this. First of all, she'd expected Millerna to either freak out or start crying, because her future husband had been caught making out with some random woman.

Second, even if Millerna had been able to keep her composure, Hitomi hadn't thought she'd openly tell her about such a secret undertaking. One that could put both Van and her in some really deep shit. What a huge scandal this could be if somebody found out prematurely.

It made her speechless for a moment. Maybe the Asturian princess did consider her a friend- trustworthy enough to let her in on their plan. King Van seemed to think otherwise, though. Anyway, too late now. The Neko was out of the bag.

It didn't make a lot of sense though. Shaking her head, Hitomi asked, "But…why let them announce the engagement in the first place?"

Millerna nodded. Yeah, it sure did seem like a waste of time to pretend when they already had a plan in place to not get married. She needed to elaborate.

"Van agreed to let them do it to buy me some more time to finish my medical studies. I'm almost done, and even though I'll rule in theory, I plan on installing a very reliable board of advisors. I need people whom I can trust with the responsibility to make the best decisions for Asturia. I'm envisioning a parliamentary monarchy which grants a substantial amount of power to the people and the freedom for me to practice medicine. It's a win-win scenario."

Van cleared his throat before he finally spoke. "And since this was decided some time ago, it took a great deal of pressure off of me. I don't have to go through my council's endless lectures about how I need to find a queen A.S.A.P. after my coronation. Millerna and I are friends and Fanelia, could use some more leverage in Gaea's political arena through a strong ally. As queen of Asturia, she will have the authority to station their melef drones here to help protect our miners outside the wall and increase capacity for energist recovery. It's the same as King Aston's plan, really. However, I'd rather have Millerna as my ally than someone who wants me bound to their country by marriage before they'll help. It's all a strategic game."

Busy absorbing everything she'd just been told, Hitomi was just confused enough to not be angry. "Right. A game…," Hitomi quietly muttered to herself, eyes closed for a moment before nodding.

Her brain was beginning to hurt a bit. Maybe too much wine after all? No. It was their obscenely intricate farce which was making her head pound. This was precisely why she stayed far away from all the high society crap. Too much drama and intrigues.

Was the king playing a game with her too then? Because he wasn't going to get any action for a while? This was all too fantastic and overwhelming to process, especially while they were staring at her to gauge her reaction.

"Well…good luck with that. I won't tell anybody," Hitomi said hurriedly while she passed both of them. Better to just get out of here. She didn't want to be caught up in any of this. "Just leave me out of it. And...happy birthday, Millerna."

"Hitomi, wait!" Millerna yelled after her, but she was already halfway out the door.

"Van! Why aren't you already going after her? This is your chance!" To Millerna, it was blindingly obvious that her childhood friend was completely captivated by Hitomi. She had a very good idea as to what they'd been up to before she'd barged in, so the fact that neither of them jumped at the chance to be together was infuriating.

Van's eyes glinted dangerously. "No, Millerna," he said firmly. "I trust her too. You've no idea how much integrity she has, but this was never just about trust. I never wanted to involve her in our plan. This is our messed up bluff, and she's got her own responsibilities and problems. Have you considered that knowing what we are up to could put additional strain on her own life or even endanger her? It doesn't matter what I want if it impacts others badly."

Millerna pursed her lips woefully. He wasn't wrong. In her attempt to be honest, to fill the other woman in and give her a reason to pursue Van, she hadn't considered that Hitomi might not want to be in on their farce. The young woman had no notable ties to high society, and political charades weren't a part of her life.

"Okay, you're right this time, but…all I'm saying is that every opportunity has a shelf-life. Allen's been asking Hitomi out, but for some reason, she's not told him 'yes.' Yet! I have no idea why, but may not stay that way. I can tell you like her- a lot. Don't even deny it."

Millerna raised a hand to keep Van from interjecting. "I'm planning on making some changes- not just for my sake, but for that of my country. I'm prepared to deal with the consequences. Just saying…"

It was easy for Millerna to berate him. She had it all planned out. Things were different in Fanelia. Apart from Merle, he was alone and any ideas for change needed room to grow- room the capital of Fanelia did not have within its thick, iron walls.

* * *

The whole way back to the ballroom Hitomi scolded herself. Never had she done so many stupid things in such rapid succession. The first was to even let her be dragged onto the dance floor by this royal ass. The second was to fall for what was surely nothing more than a game fabricated by a thirsty man tied down by a complex arrangement with a friend.

She should have realized right away that he was using her. Others, those inclined to romanticize things, would have read some emotions into it, but not Hitomi. She wasn't going to be that kind of fool. She wouldn't fall for somebody like him and come out hurt on the other side. Not in a million years.

Only, even Princess Millerna seemed to be encouraging it, and she was clearly the more responsible of the two. But why? She was so nice and appeared to be prudence personified when it came to anything. She'd gone out of her way to emphasize that she trusted Hitomi and to let her know that Van was available. Yeah. Available, but still the king of a whole damn dragon-infested country.

All of this thinking made Hitomi even more irritated and uncomfortable. When she was closer to the event space, party guests could be seen in hallways here and there again. They talked quietly in pairs, flirted, or conversed in small groups while holding crystal glasses with bubbly drinks. She scanned them all for that beacon- -a head of long, platinum hair. A normal person.

Ah. There!

She aimed for Allen's location with a sharp shooter's precision. He was talking to his Second, Gaddess.

"We're going out Wednesday evening," Hitomi announced as she grabbed Allen's hand in passing, pulling him away from the other man, and leading them both back to the dance floor.

This would show him. Meaning the damn king, of course.

Allen was a safe choice. He was a normal enough man despite his exciting job, and he would surely be in Asturia with the future Queen Millerna again if this wild plan of theirs wound up working the way she wanted it to.

Hitomi was now set on returning to Asturia again when she was done with school. Perfect. They could date for a while here and then see how things worked out in the future.

See? They weren't even together yet and things were already going so smoothly. Totally drama free.

* * *

Van withstood the urge to follow Hitomi even after Millerna had encouraged him to go after her. It just wasn't as easy as she thought. His decisions affected not only him. He couldn't afford to be short-sighted.

The princess was long gone, back to join the festivities. After a brief discussion, she'd agreed that Van wasn't entirely wrong about his concerns. Whether she liked it or not, there was too much in their lives that required personal sacrifice.

The king was leaning against the mantle of the fireplace, staring into the billowing flames, letting them feed his altruism with their heat. Closing off his mind to thoughts of what he really wanted to be doing, and with whom, he straightened his clothing. Time to return to the party and shake some more hands.

He strode down the deserted hallway, closer to the ballroom, noting the absence of crimson-clad guards there. Chances were they were celebrating his betrothal. Everybody was celebrating but him. Their plan was officially a go and there was no turning back.

Somewhere along the way, he stalled—stopped dead in his steps. Something was off. He caught a whiff of an unpleasant odor. Cigarette smoke. Of course! This had to be why. That lowlife scumbag had something to do with Hitomi's refreshed memory. He'd bet his left shoe on it.

He was out by the bailey, leaning against one of the pillars, smoking. Van felt a previously dormant urge to slash Dilandau's other cheek welling up inside of him. The Zaibachian didn't even see him coming- that's how fast the king was up in his face.

The half-smoked cigarette fell to the ground and rolled until it settled into one of the sealing joints between the stone tiles. Unseen by both men, Van's foot came down on it hard, snuffing out the glowing end.

He twisted the fabric of Dilandau's tie and shirt tightly in his fists, restricting air intake. It made the bastard cough, but a crazed expression adorned his face. He knew he deserved it.

"If you so much as blink at her again, you'll be singing soprano for the rest of your very short life," Van hissed, his face twisted in anger.

Dilandau coughed and chuckled as much as the position allowed, but didn't react otherwise. Van released him. It probably wouldn't be wise to commit a murder, although the strong desire was certainly there.

The Zaibachian slid down the pillar, coming to a stop on the ground and chuckling crazily.

"Get. Out!" Van punctuated each word with disgust.

* * *

Adelphus Gain smoothed his mustache with a thumb and index finger while glancing out the window at the palace. It'd been announced a few hours ago, so their news sources confirmed: the engagement of the Asturian Princess to the Fanelian King.

Though inconvenient, this was not threatening in the least. The King had a temper. Everybody knew that. And the Princess had a mind of her own. Something was bound to happen before the wedding which would create a scandal.

It was, after all, Fanelia and Asturia's Plan B, and such imprudent unions usually backfired. The worries he had now, unsettling as they were, paled in comparison to the sheer panic he'd felt when Prince Folken and Princess Eries had planned to wed and unite the two countries.

Their siblings had been bred to rule. They'd been the picture book future king and queen. Alas, even royals weren't immortal. Everybody knew that now. Prince Folken's death had marked the first time an heir had failed the rite of dragonslaying in centuries, a disaster of epic proportions.

Just what Zaibach had needed! More time to cultivate their master plan—to bring it to perfect fruition. A plan that would never lead anybody to them when they finally were ready to strike. A plan that was taking longer to complete than expected, but by golly, _soon_. Like, within the next two months or so.

Sure, it could still be done after the royal wedding, but he knew about the arrangements with Asturia's king to send melef drones and to fortify the energist mines. They were sending firepower Fanelia desperately needed to up production just as soon as the two allied countries were tied by a political union. So, he'd rather get this done before Fanelia was crawling with Asturian robots both in the city and outside of it.

* * *

4 A.M. The festivities had finally ended and no sleep was in sight. Not for him. No rest for the wicked.

Van was hanging out in his study again, staring into the last glowing embers in the fireplace before revisiting the spot between the bookshelves.

He roughly raked a hand through his hair when he saw the ladder between the bookshelves. He walked over to it and sighed in resignation, briefly glancing at a book on the floor. The one she'd dropped. His gaze was drawn to it.

Had she been serious when she said she'd been reading? This book?

He picked it up, staring at it in disbelief. Impossible. Probably just a joke.

The cover didn't have any writing on it, but he knew what was inside. Well, not content-wise. Because it was something not a damned person on Gaea could read anymore.

To make sure he wasn't crazy, he leafed through it and sure enough, he couldn't make out a single meaning from the symbols. Pressing his lips together, he snapped the book shut with the hand he'd been holding it with. Damn.

 **Tbc…**


	9. Act2,Chapter1

_King of Anything_

Act 2, Chapter 1

 _In which Escaflowne screeches._

Early Wednesday morning, Yukari was still struggling to fully wake and finishing her second cup of coffee. Amano, being a much more early riser than her, had left the apartment to grab a cheap lunch from the corner store for both of them to take to work.

Hitomi's side job was a steady source for the best coffee beans in town and Yukari inhaled the scent happily as she downed the last sip. Her blonde friend was already gone, probably quite busy serving the brew to eager patrons.

Not too much later, while Yukari was cleaning up after herself, Amano returned. He held two cartons of microwave ramen aloft, clutching a paper bag between two fingers, and a rolled-up magazine under one arm.

"Not ramen again!" Yukari exclaimed. "I know it's your fave but I've told you I need more variety than that."

Amano approached her with a conciliatory smile. "I know. That's why I brought you a pastry too. And your favorite, weekly dose of drama fresh off the press." He offered her a package of ramen, the paper bag, and the magazine by his elbow."

"You're the best!" Yukari said. Of course, her boyfriend knew exactly what it took to make her happy. "Too bad I have an eval due in the afternoon. I better leave this at home so I have no choice but to cram some more before. " She said with a bit of regret and placed the magazine on the kitchen counter, out of sight to keep her eyes from being drawn to whatever the headline was.

It was too bad she didn't even so much as glance at it before she and Amano left the apartment together. And were this a trashy romance movie or rom-com, the camera would be zooming in on the front page slowly, foreshadowing drama about the picture staring back.

* * *

"Man, the paparazzi sure are casting their net far for a scandal these days." Millerna tossed the high-gloss magazine onto the breakfast table between her and Merle, who was giggling at the copy of another magazine, slightly larger in size and less glossy.

The magazine cover on the table showed a picture of Van and a short-haired woman in the Mystic Moon's private seating area, locked in a deep kiss.

Merle tossed the second paper on top, covering it with a different front-page which showed the same picture but with a second version of it depicting a more hi-res version where Millerna was the woman Van was kissing. She was still impressed at what could be done with a computer and the appropriate graphics program these days.

Somehow, a mysterious source had slipped a picture of Van and Hitomi into the hands of Goldilocks and Quicksilver; the two most ruthless paparazzi of Fanelia. Due to safety concerns, they worked under these cover names. While they had a huge following in the people who bought the trash magazine, they weren't at all appreciated in other circles of society.

"Jealousy is a disease. Hope they get well soon." Merle shrugged as she sipped on a freshly brewed latte. Good thing Van doesn't get phased by stuff like that. I doubt he's even seen it.

"Yeah I have to say, they are entertaining to go through though," Millerna admitted with a pearly white grin.

"Right. Sometimes I find out about things I didn't even know I did." Merle laughed.

Both princesses were pretty calm about the headline. They were used to these kind of hiccups and not easy to shock. Millerna was just glad she'd early on become skilled in foreseeing potential drama and used the PR office to her advantage. Especially when it came to spotting such news prematurely. A few informants placed strategically in the city's biggest publishing house had warned her soon enough to respond.

* * *

"You can't really expect me to go in there." Hitomi looked a bit horrified as Allen placed a hand on the small of her back and guided her towards the sparkly-clean double doors of a luxury boutique.

There were big flower planters to the right and left of the entrance, already heralding how fancy the inside was going to be.

"I most certainly am serious about that," Allen assured her, nodding his encouragement.

Their date was going exceptionally well. Allen had agreed to keep it low-key at Hitomi's request. He'd still insisted on picking her up from her apartment in the early afternoon and they'd picked a charming but cheap outdoor café and enjoyed some iced coffee.

Despite Allen's appalled expression, Hitomi had picked up the bill for both of them. She liked the thought of being non-traditional. After all, she'd been the one to make the invitation. Well, she'd not actually given him a choice, but it wasn't like he would've said no.

As a way to thank her for the treat, he'd insisted on getting her something in return. Hitomi laughed when he'd walked up to an old crane-game next to a souvenir store and fished out the most ugly-looking stuffed doll she'd ever seen. It was a mix of a human and a bee wearing carpenter pants.

She'd held it up to inspect it while Allen, for the first time not appearing like the smooth gentleman he was, looked mildly embarrassed. He was dissatisfied with the quality of his gift.

"I love it." Hitomi giggled, to his surprise. "It's so ugly."

She doubled over a bit at the waist. It was hilarious to see Allen not be good at something for the first time. It made him more human in her eyes. He'd shown up in another dark blue, but less formal, suit and the combination of it with his pale blonde hair worn in a low ponytail had women gawking wherever they went.

She'd felt out of place at first in a simple, green sundress but soon found she didn't care all that much. If he wanted to be with her, he'd have to get used to her style.

"This won't do." He'd decided and insisted upon strolling towards the fancy shopping area of town where they were now.

"You'd look so good in a designer dress." Allen encouraged her. "I want to show you that wearing things like that isn't as bad as you think. Come into my world for a bit."

Hitomi caved in at the last part. "Fine. Humor me."

When they entered, the sales personnel descended upon them like a flock of swans. Two women slightly older than Hitomi with sleek hair, wearing tasteful, white column dresses and high heels welcomed them warmly.

It was immediately clear that their attention was mainly on Amano. Firstly, he was handsome as hell, and secondly, he looked like he knew how to shop in this kind of place.

They were whisked away to the back of the store and offered champagne. Allen was used to all this and Hitomi merely tagged along as the ladies drooled over him.

The two swans were visibly hungry to see him model some of the inventory tailored for guys but quickly corrected their behavior when he announced that they were looking for something for Hitomi. A bit disappointed, they still complied with Allen's directives to find a dress to complement Hitomi's looks.

While the two women scurried away, Hitomi took in the interior of the store. The floor was tiled marble and covered in a thin, expensive-looking carpet. All the display shelves and racks were gilded, each holding only a few samples of the clothing offered. No doubt, the personnel pulled appropriate sizes from the back of the store upon customer request. Anything else would have appeared cheap.

There were mirrors all around them and for the first time since the beginning of the date, Hitomi felt inadequate. Especially while holding the ugly doll from the crane game. It gave her the shivers when she looked at Allen next to her.

No doubt, he could impress any given woman with his manners and looks. Even those who were technically too high up the social ladder to be with him. But here he was, spending time with her and obviously interested and no matter how she turned it, she couldn't see a reason why he wouldn't be serious about her.

This eased her mind a bit while the swans returned with a pile of offerings, distracting her from that pity party.

Hitomi laughed a true laugh when she exited the dressing room for the fifth time, modeling one of the dresses the ladies in white had picked out for her. One could tell how expensive the clothing was and how much work had gone into fabricating each piece.

Alright, maybe the high society wasn't so dumb after all. They liked nice stuff and appreciated quality. Too bad everything here was way out of her price range. Did Allen really shop at places like these too? She couldn't see a price tag anywhere. It was probably considered cheap to even ask about a price.

Allen's eyes lit up when Hitomi turned in front of him. She was barefoot since she'd only worn a comfortable pair of sandals before which would have ruined the look of the backless, yet very tasteful, red cocktail dress she was wearing.

"Stunning," Allen commented, captivated.

"Yes, it looks fantastic on her." One of the swans commented dutifully, aware that she stood no chance.

"You could walk into an A-list cocktail party any day without an invitation in that." Allen reemphasized. "Let me buy it for you."

Hitomi stared at her reflection in the mirror beside him, equally impressed by how this expensive piece of fabric made her look. Mature, respectable, and beautiful.

"Absolutely not." She finally laughed, shaking her head. "I don't want you to do that."

Allen looked disappointed. "But it would be my pleasure."

"I'm serious. This is…just not me." Hitomi looked straight at him, ignoring the annoyed glances of the swans floating nearby.

"Well, that's too bad but if you insist." Allen conceded respectfully.

After they'd left the store without making a purchase, the sun was slowly beginning to set. "I unfortunately need to return to the palace to lead the evening security brief and get updated on the day's happenings," Allen said.

"It's perfectly fine. I had a great time. Thank you for spending your afternoon off with me." Hitomi easily replied.

And it was true. Despite the trip to the richer world, she'd had a great time. Allen was good people and fantastic at keeping her entertained. He always had something to talk about and made sure to ask her questions about herself to show equal interest.

"But…if you don't mind I'd like to do this again soon. Maybe then you'll allow me to take you to a nice restaurant?" He offered. "That shouldn't be too far out of your comfort zone."

"Maaaaybe," Hitomi replied playfully as they strolled down the street with her cradling the ugly doll against her chest fondly.

Allen walked her home and they turned to face each other at the entrance to Hitomi's apartment building. She was unsure of what to expect. Would they kiss? It was only their first date and she wasn't sure that she was ready for that.

Her subconscious did a double-take at that thought, hollering inside her head when a much too familiar face was thrust forcibly into her awareness. Hitomi's chest nearly exploded from the influx of adrenalin. Heart hammering against her chest, her breathing quickened.

Allen carefully took her hand, seemingly unaware of what was going on inside of her. A slight raise of one eyebrow indicated that he could, perhaps, feel the increased pulse at her wrist under his fingers or the sweat slowly forming on Hitomi's palm. He must have sensed her unrest. In typical gentlemanly fashion, he bent down and pressed his lips to the back of her hand.

Whatever he'd planned on doing at first, he ended up not doing and for that, Hitomi was entirely grateful.

"See you soon, Hitomi." Allen winked before turning and striding down the short walkway, only looking back once for one last, charming smile.

* * *

Meanwhile, Yukari was busy wiping the countertop in the apartment above because mere minutes before, she'd spluttered an entire mouthful of water across the front of the high gloss magazine in her hand.

The picture of her best friend locked in a sensual kiss with the ruler of all Fanelia had caused this rather rash but justified reaction.

When Hitomi entered the apartment, still walking on a cloud, Yukari immediately descended upon her like an eager, little sparrow. She shoved the magazine under her nose and, very erratically, demanded an explanation.

Hitomi heaved a deep sigh to cope with the visual and because there was no way to get out of this. This was a nightmare. Somebody had taken a snapshot from the video- a still- and slipped it to some eager paparazzi. The only one she knew who had a copy of it was the Zaibachian dude from the palace.

She should have known then that something was shifty about him. Her gut feeling had told her so at first but she'd brushed it off.

"Should I wait until Amano is home so I only have to explain once?" Hitomi finally groaned.

"You sure you're not just stalling?" Yukari asked, eyes wide and trembling a bit from excitement.

"I mean…yeah. That too." Hitomi admitted.

"Don't even. I'm all ears." Yukari tossed the magazine between them on the table and folded her hands against the top, blatantly staring and completely alright with it.

Not wanting to lie to her best friend anymore, she started at the beginning. It was so strange to talk about everything that'd happened out loud. Like doing so made it real for the first time. Not like it hadn't been real before but now it was out in the open. Well, out in the open of their small apartment kitchen anyway.

Hitomi told Yukari about the first meeting with King Van, what'd happened at the club, and the clinic. When Hitomi got to that part, she could visibly see the gears in her friend's head turning. She was just now realizing that she'd not recognized the ruler of all Fanelia and he'd been right under her nose.

Eyes as big as saucers, Yukari clung to Hitomi's every word and gasped at the appropriate moments.

Then the part with the little hike in the woods- beyond the freaking wall- had Yukari exclaim 'what' multiple times. With a little hesitation, Hitomi also told her about Millerna's birthday festivities. Of course, Yukari knew she'd been there but then the kiss in the library'd happened. It was what Hitomi couldn't stop thinking about and as soon as she started talking about it, she couldn't make herself stop. It almost felt good to get everything off her chest.

Everything but the part about Millerna walking in on them and sharing with her the massive secret that could mess up relations between Fanelia and Asturia if it came out.

If it'd been physically possible, Yukari's chin would've hit the tabletop already. "But…how…nevermind. You told me how you met in the first place. Hitomi. This is **insane**! How is this all possible?"

Her friend moved around the table and gripped Hitomi's shoulders, shaking her back and forth slowly and making her sway on her feet.

"Uh…yeah." Hitomi sighed and shook off her friend's hands. "I know I…it's so weird even talking about it. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before it's just…he's…you know…so I didn't know **how** to even tell you about it because this is all crazy!"

Yukari's eyes widened a tad and she made a dramatic hand gesture to emphasize Hitomi's point.

With a click, the door opened and closed behind Amano when he arrived. And just as soon as Yukari eagerly shoved the paper under his nose, of course Hitomi had to repeat herself. Verbatim.

True to his more composed personality, Amano's reaction was overall amused rather than plain shocked like his girlfriend.

At the end of hearing her story the second time, Yukari brought up something inconvenient. "But you're dating Allen now, aren't you?"

Yes, they'd been on an official date today but Hitomi hadn't been dead set on this being the start to a relationship of any sort just yet. The way she hesitated to answer the question made realization sink in- on Yukari's side.

"Hooooly smokes. You **like** him. Actually **like** him! King Van!" Yukari gripped Hitomi's shoulders again, this time a bit harder from excitement.

Amano merely chuckled when the redhead eagerly nodded. Hitomi was about to refute her friend's statement. Just at that moment, another, uncomfortable fact came crashing down on Yukari like a sack of potatoes.

"But…he's engaged." Yukari blurted out. "Engaged to someone really, really cool," she trailed off regretfully. "Oh no. He's not leading you on, is he? That's…messed up!" Yukari began to get riled up.

Hitomi's expression was that of helplessness. She didn't know which one of Yukari's worries to ease first.

Thankfully, Amano stepped in and freed Hitomi, taking Yukari's hands in his. "Chill out, Yukari. Take a deep breath and notice that Hitomi is plenty calm right now."

Well, at least on the outside she was.

"Yeah because she is upset! She's upset and doesn't know how to react to it all. She's probably super disappointed. But you know what? Disappointment is anger for wimps and Hitomi is not a wimp!" Yukari insisted.

There wasn't a single thing Hitomi could say right now that wouldn't involve sharing the secret Millerna had let her in on. She knew that when her bestie got an idea into her head, it was difficult to convince her otherwise.

"Man, Allen is going to be so salty when he finds out you picked the king over him," Amano stated with a hint of amusement.

Hitomi massaged one of her temples and heaved a big sigh again. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "No…please don't say that. I am **not** trying to date the king. It's not like that. It's already difficult enough to feel normal after all this."

Right that moment, the doorbell rang in two short bursts and Amano went to answer it.

It gave Hitomi time to take a breather until…

"Hitomi. Are you sure about what you just said?" Amano's voice sounded from the front entrance area.

She frowned and sighed- again. "Positive. Why?"

Why was he asking that? To escape Yukari's still probing stare, she left the kitchen and followed Amano's voice, then abruptly froze on the spot when she saw who was standing in the doorframe.

"Were we expecting somebody? Who shows up unannou…." Yukari's voice closed in on them. She skidded to a halt next to Hitomi and slapped a hand over her mouth to cover the rest of her sentence.

The king had already removed his sunglasses, holding them loosely in one hand and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. Looking like any ordinary guy, in some jeans, sneakers and a black brand-name track jacket, he was undoubtedly real.

* * *

Celena shook her head as she looked from one magazine cover to the other as she idled by a newsstand in Old Town Fanelia.

The reaction to a full-blown scandal would have been brutal. Asturia would have broken off the engagement immediately and Princess Millerna would have been married off to somebody else, effectively canceling the plans for an alliance.

All royal houses were used to exposure of the dramatic kind. Not only was there a picture of the short-haired woman from the club and Van kissing, but there was another magazine who'd brought to print the same image, instead with Millerna in Hitomi's place. There was little doubt as to which one the original picture was.

Celena shook her head again, somehow still uncertain. Then again, the other picture was of way better quality and she had no idea who'd been in the private area for how long when they were at the club. She'd been dancing with Princess Merle almost the whole time.

It was quite obvious, so the paper stated, that the picture in the other magazine had been altered digitally to make it look like the king was kissing a woman with shorter hair. It was not difficult to fake such an image and make the woman look like somebody other than the Asturian princess.

And if this trashy paper was on to something there, then surely Princess Millerna would have been outraged earlier this morning already, having them all pack their things to return to Asturia within the day. Considering all this, Celena decided that this was after all just an attempt to cast a bad light onto the King of Fanelia.

What an intricately entwined emotional dilemma, but only for the people who knew the truth.

Dilandau grinned smugly when he saw her from afar. It was a fabulous day. He relished in shocked faces of passers-by as he saw them walk down the street, holding the magazine. His day'd only gotten better when he'd spotted the annoying blonde doing the same.

He enjoyed her look of confusion so much it made him approach her. Willingly this time. "Tragic, huh? To find out what a ladies' man the king is. Good thing somebody captured that moment."

To his annoyance, she wasn't surprised at all to see him. Had she spotted him coming through the back of her head or something?

"Well, it looks like the thing is fake. This much more reputable paper has a picture of who it really is: Princess Millerna. Somebody photoshopped the real picture to make her look like somebody else."

Dilandau frowned unhappily. "How can you be so sure that's the real one?"

He didn't want to admit to being the source of the picture. He regretted now having only sent a screenshot to Goldilocks and Quicksilver. Perhaps he needed to rectify that? Perhaps he also didn't care to make that effort. He wasn't sure yet.

"Why do you hate the king so much?" Celena asked while frowning softly, trying to understand why it was that Dilandau relished the drama so.

Dilandau pursed his lips before answering. "I don't hate him specifically. He just happened to be a good option for entertainment."

"You enjoy this?" Celena shot him a searingly skeptical look.

"Verily!" The Zaibachian answered, looking inordinately pleased with himself.

Celena furrowed her brow in disapproval. "You're smiling like someone who doesn't know what smiles are for. You are weird."

Dilandau crossed his arms on his chest. "I'm not weird. You are just basic and have no chill."

Celena shook her head, looking disappointed with an expression conveying her pity for him. "Who hurt you?"

Irritated at the way she was twisting this conversation again, trying to burrow through his layers, he turned and walked away without sparing her another word.

"You can't hide like that forever, you know?" Celena spoke loud enough for him to hear but didn't follow. "It's all going to overwhelm you one day."

* * *

A fridge can tell a lot about the people living in a place and the fridge in the trio's apartment was full of magnets, pictures, and notes which told about achievements, friendship, and groceries. The fridge in the palace had nothing on it. It was industrial-sized, brushed, stainless steel and on a regular day, Van never even had to go near it.

One of the pictures in the middle of the fridge, right at eye level, depicted the three inhabitants of this place. Albeit younger, they were recognizable. It'd been taken at a sporting event. A track meet, to be precise. Since Van already knew that Hitomi liked to run, it was only a short leap of logic to assume that it had been a competition.

A very successful one for both her and Amano, judging by the medals hanging around their necks. They all stood next to each other, arms linked and beaming. Van's gaze fell a bit. He didn't have any pictures like that. The only pictures he had were ones with Merle from when they were little, and of him shaking hands with diplomats or other important members of society.

The ones with the whole family were older and mostly kept locked away. It'd been too painful to see the five of them together after his parents and Folken had died and after the pain slowly numbed, the pictures remained stored in the box of the royal archives for historical documentation.

Of course, every now and again a newspaper dug up a copy or two again but Van never looked at the grainy print long enough to call forth some sort of strong emotion about it.

"So…you need help? How can we possibly help you?" Hitomi's question snapped him back to reality.

Van raked a hand through his hair, and then brushed it forward again, bringing the style back into casual disarray while thinking about how to best explain why he was here.

Yukari's arms were crossed and her lips were pursed. Completely contrary to how she would normally react, she looked almost upset. Normally, she'd be all over the chance to talk to the king but now she had some new info to consider.

For Hitomi's sake, she was putting her friendship over her natural inclination for sensationalism. Undoubtedly, Yukari was loyal to Hitomi and her friendship ranked above that curiosity.

"You are the only chance I have. I don't trust anybody at the palace." Van opened and, to everyone's surprise, looked directly at Amano.

Amano poked a thumb into his own chest. "Me?"

Van nodded. "At the club, Hitomi told Millerna and me that you're some sort of computer whiz. I need help unlocking certain files in Escaflowne's memory storage. They are inaccessible to me although I'm supposed to be the only one with Admin rights. I have a feeling something weird is going on with that and I'm not sure who I can trust with it."

Hitomi interjected at this point, not exactly irritated but mad curious as to why he'd chosen to come to them out of all people. "Why would you come to us of all people?"

"Because I'd rather choose to trust somebody who likely has no interest in this and, well, I don't know anybody outside the palace who knows much about computers," Van explained.

Wow. He did, indeed, feel like a bit of a loser now. He didn't have friends outside the palace. That's what that sounded like. Of course, he had friends. He went out **some** times and…ok…fine... He didn't honestly make an effort to build friendships when he did. He didn't really have friends. Hopefully, that wouldn't be so obvious to them based on what he'd said.

"So you don't have any friends you could ask?" Yukari asked flat out.

Damn. She was nearly on the same level as Merle when stating embarrassing truths in a blunt way.

"I don't trust anybody else right now." Van decided to answer vaguely. No need to admit anything here.

Amano nodded. "Alright, I can give it a shot. Where is Escaflowne?"

"You'll need to come with me. He would have attracted too much attention so he's in a storage room on the ground level of the palace defense walls." Van explained.

Yukari's eyes widened. "Woah, we're going **into** the palace walls?"

"We?" Van raised an eyebrow, a big question mark on his face.

"Of course! This is a package deal. Three for the price of one." Yukari confidently announced.

"Uhm…three?" Hitomi piped up. She'd remained quiet up until now, determined not to get involved in any of these shenanigans again. The king was here for Amano. There was no reason she needed to tag along this time.

Everyone stared at her, including Van. Their eyes locked and the ruby color of his irises immediately reflected itself on her cheeks. A hot poker shot through her sternum and she quickly cast her look at the tabletop between them instead. "Fine."

She acquiesced quickly to avoid a possibly much weirder situation. After all, the king had no idea that she'd just let her best friend in on their whole story. Well, not the whole story but most of it- including some steamy details.

While she'd said some things out loud earlier, she wasn't even close to permit herself to think about him the way she had in the library. Not when she was so exposed under everybody's gaze.

While they waited for Amano to pack his computer stuff into a messenger bag, the girls and Van stood in the living room. Yukari was eyeing the king with a mix of suspicion, curiosity, and wonder. Hitomi felt plain awkward and hugged her arms close. Van tried to appear as if he was scanning the room, interested in the furniture and decoration but was eyeballing Hitomi in his peripheral.

He surely wouldn't have come here if it wasn't necessary. He had sworn to himself to not run into Hitomi again, let alone seek her out purposely but here he was. A small voice inside his head was cheering, elated to see her again. Of course, he secretly hadn't wanted their encounters to end but rational thoughts had won over these feelings just recently. Or so he thought.

The relief was real when Amano joined them, slinging his messenger bag across his shoulder in the process. "I got everything I might need."

"Great let's go." Van didn't waste a minute, gad to have his thoughts back on task.

When the three of them left the apartment, the back of Van's hand brushed against Hitomi's while they stood waiting for Amano to lock the door. Shades back in place to disguise himself, Van was thankful she couldn't make out the pained expression in his eyes.

She was in a rather simple green sundress and the smell of fresh air and evening sunshine clung to her. She must have been outside this afternoon, not having been home for long or taken the time to change before he came. He found himself to be weirdly pleased about it.

However, the lingering tension between them was more bitter than sweet. Heck, at least she knew that he wasn't a cheating bastard. Or did she? He was still a liar, though. A liar who was deceiving a whole kingdom save for two people. One of them being her and the other his official betrothed and partner in crime.

It sounded absolutely shitty, no matter how he looked at it. He couldn't blame Hitomi for acting weary around him in the least. Admitting that to himself only aggravated him. And the fact that he seemed to be so taken by her vexed him even more. Why was it that she managed to befuddle his brain so badly with such little effort on her part?

Probably because he knew precisely what she tasted like, and how it felt to hold her. How her sighs and little sounds of pleasure made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. To drag himself out of the quicksand that were his thoughts, he took the lead as soon as they got outside. At least, this way he wasn't tempted to look at her.

They appeared like a completely ordinary group of people, walking through the narrow streets of Fanelia. Except one of them was the king incognito and they were on a mission to crack some secret code in his armored bodyguard.

Yukari had loosened up a bit, curiosity having won over however she felt after Hitomi and her had talked. "How did you know where we live?"

Van spoke over his shoulder from where he was leading the way in front of her. "Pretty easy. I asked one of the guards in the security office to look you up in the registry. We can find out where anybody lives."

"Now that's a bit creepy." Yukari decided and frowned.

"If you think that's creepy wait until we enter the base of the defense wall," Van promised, although it hadn't been his plan to become some sort of tourist guide today.

And he was right about his previous statement. Yukari felt a shiver of goosebumps make its way down her spine when they walked through the dimly-lit hallway behind the security doors they'd just passed.

It wasn't a horror-movie kind of creepy but something she'd never experienced before. The base structure inside the metal-clad defense walls was still the original stone from way back when. Only there'd been improvements and enforcements made with various metals throughout the centuries. Mold was covering some old, exposed surfaces and trailed along the sealing joints where stone and steel met. It smelled like decomposing, organic matter and rust.

Generators were humming all around them and here and there, she felt like she saw weird shadows. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be fans turning in ventilation shafts above them. It became even eerier when they entered a room behind another security door. A door the king had to punch a rather long code into the control panel to open.

The room was equally rather dark. He explained that the security system was only showing blimps of activity when somebody entered and exited doors like during a patrol but if the light was turned on, more attention was drawn to the area so he preferred to keep it on emergency lighting only.

The room was fairly empty with the exception of a few shelves packed with crates and of course, the large, effing robot positioned in the middle- holy moly!

The thing of legends. The famed Escaflowne.

Yukari gawked. Even Amano was momentarily taken aback by the sight of it so close up. While Hitomi was in the back of the group, she noticed the machine's LED eyes behind the helmet narrow in on her for a split second.

"Escaflowne." Van addressed the machine unceremoniously. "I found someone who may be able to help. This is Amano. I am granting him temporary admin rights."

Amano nodded towards the robot in a polite greeting. "Evening."

The king didn't even bother to introduce anybody else but Hitomi couldn't find it in herself to even be miffed about it. After all, she hadn't even asked to be here in the first place.

The sentry grumbled. "Letting just anyone take a shot at it, are we?"

"We can't exactly be picky right now," Van said while motioning for the machine to turn and opened the control panel on the bottom half of his back armor.

"Amano, go ahead." Van offered for the other man to help himself at the various ports and controls on the oversized robot.

The king then walked towards the darkened corner near the door they'd just entered and assessed a long desk. It was probably used to keep track of inventory of whatever was stored here. He gathered up the paperwork on it and, quite unceremoniously, dropped it on the floor, clearing the desk.

Everyone watched as he grabbed the heavy piece of metal furniture and dragged it across the floor under the small emergency lamp which was the only source of light. The shrill, screeching sounds of metal legs on stone floor caused everyone to wince. When he was done, the three friends still stared at him.

"What's the matter? Did you think I'm too good to get my hands dirty?" Van asked a bit unnerved. Had everyone conveniently forgotten how he came to be the king of this country?

The three friends shook their heads in unison while he went back to fetch the chair, bringing that too. Hitomi watched absentmindedly, remembering the dragon encounter and how little he indeed minded. And not that **she** minded seeing him put some of that muscle to use.

Really? That's where her thoughts were headed?

How shallow. She wasn't any better than his massive fan club.

But he **was** good at picking up things. Especially her. Good thing it was so dark in here. And good thing Amano was beginning to get to work unpacking his stuff and plugging his laptop into on of Escaflowne's ports. It drew focus to what was going on there instead.

Amano stared in awe at the black screen, white numbers whizzing past from bottom to top all on their own as he scrolled. Numbers, letters, spaces, brackets, and everything else that made up code.

"That's impressive," Amano concluded.

"Thank you," Escaflowne said.

"Err…wasn't meant as a compliment. Your code is really quite primitive which figures, considering how old you are. I meant the virus working in your program. A worm, to be precise."

"Do excuse me. **Primitive?** And what do you mean by **worm?** " Escaflowne screeched, appalled at the insult. "I am not a carbon-based life form. It's impossible for me to harbor a worm. And who are you calling old?"

"Relax. It's only a tech term. The worm is in the code around your memory. Restricted to the files in question, to be precise."

"How did it get there?" Van asked, undeterred by the banter between them.

"Can't say really how or since when. Or who put it there, for that matter." Amano shrugged, leaning back in the chair, rubbing his chin with two fingers. "Probably whoever didn't want this to be found and accessed. This was the best way to secure the data short of deleting it."

"How does a worm work?" Hitomi asked, now curious. She had basic computer knowledge but since her interests revolved around sports and the outdoors, she'd never bothered to advance that knowledge.

"I've only read about it a few times. It's a Morph worm. A Morph worm blocks potential hacking attacks by encrypting and randomly reshuffling key bits of its code and data 20 times per second. It's infinitely faster than a human hacker can work and thousands of times faster than even the fastest electronic hacking techniques." Amano explained, mesmerized by what was on the screen of his laptop.

"So, you can't access them either…" Van sighed defeatedly. His gut twisted in disappointment. Now he had no choice but to consult the tech office in the palace.

Escaflowne let out his equivalent of a chuckle. "Not so primitive after all, am I?"

"Nah." Amano cracked his knuckles leisurely. "It's just going to take me a bit longer." He smiled confidently.

He rummaged in his bag, looking for something. "I'm gonna have to put my dongle into your port receptor.

"Your **what?** " Escaflowne screeched, his audio output briefly overloaded.

Several of the humans had to stifle a chuckle of amusement.

Amano sighed. "Get your mind out of the gutter, folks. A dongle is a piece of hardware with a cryptographic protection mechanism. I made it so that even if somebody gets ahold of the programs I write, they won't be able to use them without this hard key."

"Why would you not just say that in the first place?" Escaflowne asked, clearly miffed despite his lack of ability to emote. It made the situation all the funnier.

"Well, I don't make these names up. I just use the stuff. Besides, this was much more entertaining and educational." Amano grinned to himself while scanning Escaflowne's ports next to where his laptop was already plugged in. "Alright, I'm plugging…the dongle into your main receptor."

Escaflowne's voice was low and quiet this time. "Did you know it takes only around 4,000 newtons of force to break the typical human femur?"

Yukari stifled a giggle too late. She shot Amano an apologetic grin as he looked over his shoulder accusingly.

"Escaflowne." Was all Van had to say to bring more seriousness back into the task at hand.

"Yes, your majesty." The robot understood immediately. His sassy nature wasn't something that was widely known about and Van preferred to keep it that way.

Everybody was watching throughout the next ten minutes while Amano hacked away at his keyboard, deeply engrossed in the code whizzing past as he typed.

"I'm in." Amano finally announced although the screen looked exactly the same way it had before to the untrained eye.

In less than a second, everyone gathered even closer by his side. They stared in awe as the visuals of the memory files were displayed on Amano's laptop. He was using another program to translate them into a graphic representation instead of the interface on Escaflowne's back panel.

"Does any of this make sense to you?" Amano asked Van as he opened a few files, scrolled through and showed them to him.

Van looked confused and upset at the same time. "No. Damnit." He skimmed across the symbols in the text file, growing increasingly more frustrated. "That's ancient Atlantean."

Yukari leaned further towards the screen, supporting her balance on Amano's shoulder and squinted, like it would help any. "Man what a bummer. All this work and now nobody will be able to read it."

Hitomi shifted her weight from one foot onto the other, peering at the paragraph on the screen in front of them.

Her voice was low but melodic and confident when she spoke. "It says: In the darkness, the dragon wakes or awakens. To a heart that is numbed with cold, the dragon takes. With you at my side, the dragon sleeps. On dragon wings, your wishes will leap. Something…something about wishes can bring forth a destructive future or you can bring salvation."

The rest of the group shared a bewildered look while Hitomi was reading. Yukari was about to interrupt her, incredulous that she hadn't known about her friend's unknown talent but Van reached over and covered her mouth with his hand.

So that's what she meant when she said she was reading when he'd confronted her in the library. She'd not even been kidding. But it was impossible. Nobody could read this. Ancient Atlantean was a dead language and people had long since stopped studying it.

"Hitomi. What on Gaea was that? I mean why can you read this?" Yukari finally asked the burning question after her friend had finished.

Hitomi clasped both hands together, a bit unsure now. "Well, it's not even that good a translation. It's ancient Atlantean, like Van said. Remember my grandma Yuri?"

In this instance, her use of the king's given name passed unnoticed by her and anyone else but him.

Yukari nodded. Amano shook his head slowly. Only Yukari had met her grandmother before she'd passed and even then, a young Yukari hadn't ever spoken to her too much.

"She was a linguist- an expert in dead languages and sometimes showed me documents she was working on back when she was still employed by the historical society. I always thought Atlantean symbols were cool so she started teaching me for a while but I never used it much so my skills are a bit rusty." Hitomi explained.

Well, wasn't this a convenient surprise?

* * *

Van was pacing back and forth in front of Millena, who was calmly sitting on the chaise lounge in her royal guest apartment.

"I mean it's worth a try. I'm certain he can help. Dryden's an expert on all kinds of old tech and culture nobody else cares about anymore." Millerna assured him. "And he would never use the information against you. He likes knowing things for the sake of knowledge, not to gain an advantage or blackmail someone over it. Sometimes you just need to trust and rely on others. He's a good guy!"

Van glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes when she said that last part, having heard an entirely different tone of voice form her there.

Quickly focused on his main concern again, he said. "I don't even know the guy."

"Oh don't worry. I'll come with you. We've known each other since we were kids." Millerna waved a hand through the air to dismiss any worries. "But you won't like what I'm going to tell you now. And you already know what I'm going to say, right?"

The paragraph Hitomi had been able to read was only one part of the small collection of information Amano had been able to unearth. There were technical schematics and in combination with the foreign language, Hitomi had quickly hit a dead-end in her interpretive abilities. She wasn't a tech freak and definitely didn't know the language well enough to make precise translations for such a specific topic.

Van stopped and crammed his hands into his pants pockets, facing her. "What?" Already dreading the answer.

"Hitomi needs to come. She's obviously not too shoddy with the language and two brains translate and decipher more than one." Millerna reasoned.

Van sighed and his eyes darkened. She wasn't wrong and how he hated it.

* * *

Hitomi was already in her pajama shorts and a tank top when someone was at the door, knocking carefully instead of ringing this time. It was well past a reasonable hour for visitors and that after she still hadn't fully processed their previous adventure. Yukari and Amano had already retired for the night, even.

With a weird feeling in her stomach, she walked up to the spyglass in the door and stumbled back when she saw that familiar mop of dark hair on the other side. This time, he wasn't even in his sunglasses. Risky.

She pinched herself to make sure she wasn't in some sort of weird movie or alternate universe where strange things were scripted to happen to her by an overeager narrator in god-mode.

Nope, definitely not.

Wearily, she opened the door and wasn't even embarrassed about her attire. "Miss me already?" She asked dryly.

"I need you..." Van told her urgently as he entered the apartment, then trailed off.

Thrown off guard by the blatant way he'd stated his business, Hitomi nearly tripped when she stepped further back into the living room. "Wha…what?"

Hitomi's heart sped up drastically. Her body directed increased blood flow to her cheeks, neck, and chest. The time of night and place they were in only helped to make this moment more personal. Here they were again. Semi-alone and rather close.

Van's face, in turn, lost all its color in mere seconds. Oh shit.

"I mean…I need your abilities. With the Atlantean language." Van corrected himself hastily, and a bit too loud.

Hitomi gulped uncomfortably, mouth still hanging open in an O of surprise. Her face remained expressionless otherwise until her eyes slowly closed and she exhaled quietly. Of course, that's why he was here. What was she thinking? He needed her help.

The floorboards creaked accusingly when somebody entered the living room from one of the bedrooms on the side.

"What's going on here?" Yukari looked like she was only seconds away from exploding. Just as soon as she knew what specifically she was supposed to be exploding over.

"I need to borrow Hitomi for a few days to figure out these files," Van explained matter-of-factly and without having waited for Hitomi to agree. "Please." He then added wisely, although it was only a small gesture of goodwill.

Yukari was careful in the words she chose so as not to risk betraying too much of Hitomi's confidence. She was aware of what had happened between them but didn't want the king to know that she knew while still sticking up for her friend.

"Why is she the only one who can do this? You know, she still has evals to pass so she can graduate. She's got responsibilities too." Yukari stated bluntly.

Van nodded and glanced at Hitomi. "It will only be for a few days and I can make sure she won't get in any trouble for not showing up at work or the clinic."

Hitomi listened to them argue. If she wasn't so annoyed, she'd find it comical that the king was bargaining with Yukari as if she was a stern mother, making sure the guy's intentions about her daughter were good.

"Please, Hitomi." Van addressed her. He looked worn out and desperate. It made her realize that he wasn't just doing this for shits and giggles. This was important. Maybe just as important as finding out what had happened to his brother.

Hitomi combed both hands through her hair. She was beginning to see why the king was drawn to this stress-relieving habit. Her hands paused at the back of her head where she rubbed it for some relief until she remembered something. Namely the back of **his** head.

It made her feel bad for him again. There was a good chance nobody but she and Yukari knew he'd had a concussion. As far as she was aware, he'd never before displayed any kind of weakness in public. The guy was lost and confused about something and it made him desperate enough to show up here late at night, begging for her help. Damnit…

"Fine." Was all Hitomi said. "When?"

"Now."

"What?" The girls sweatdropped.

"Geeze. It's the middle of the night. Surely this can wait until tomorrow morning?" Amano interjected from the bedroom doorframe, having been alerted to the scene too.

"It can't." Van insisted.

"Fine. Let me get changed." Hitomi didn't wait for an answer and disappeared into her bedroom.

 _Fine_. That word was starting to give her an odd sense of déjà vu.

Sticking her head out the door a second later, she asked Van one more thing. "Do I need to look…important?" She settled for that word instead of 'nice'. Why was she even asking? Perhaps because shopping with Amano had reminded her of the glaring, societal differences between her and **them**.

"What? No." Van shrugged, confused about her inquiry. "Wear whatever you want."

Hitomi furrowed her brow, then pulled her head back and closed the door.

Back in the living room, Yukari crossed her arms and turned to Van, preparing to give him a stern talking-to.

"Imma keep it real with you. You are the king but that does not give you the right to treat Hitomi this way. She's a good person who'd help anyone and she may be useful to you but that doesn't mean you can treat her like some employee of yours at the palace. Is that clear?"

Van could only gulp and nod. "Crystal."

 **Tbc…**

 **A/N: As you can see, the plot thickens. Hence why we now find ourselves in the second act. Can you guess who Quicksilver and Goldilocks are? I am not sure yet, if they will actually appear in the story. Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this installment. Whoever has a better explanation for what the doll is that Allen gets Hitomi in the Anime dream date, gets...bragging rights.**

 **A big thank you to Meghanna Starsong for shooting me some ideas when I was stuck and to whomever is still reviewing.**


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